Swamp Sparrow with crane flies

I was lucky enough to come upon this parent Swamp Sparrow with a mouthful of crane flies (species?) this evening in the Sackville Waterfowl Park. Swamp Sparrows are deceptively beautiful birds. One of the many delights of photography is that it is capable of bringing this beauty out. BTW, "our" sparrows are really buntings to the Europeans.

The light was fading so I had to make the best of a bad situation. I'm not that happy with the head angle but this was the sharpest one I had. I cloned some branches from above the bird and did some selective sharpening around the eye before an overall sharpen at the end of processing. Reduced noise and did some burning and dodging to even out BG and highlights on perch.

Comments welcome.

40D, 500 mm f4, 1.4 tc
capture date: Thursday, June 12, 2008 8:07:45 PM
exposure program: Aperture Priority
ISO speed: 640
shutter speed: 1/125
aperture: f5.6
exposure bias: -0.3
metering: Pattern
flash: ON, -1, Beamer
tripod, Mongoose 3.5 head

Nice creamy BG and I like the transition from soft rear, right, and bottom of the bird to the nice sharpness of the upper chest and face. I agree with you on the simple, pleasing look of these birds. Don't know what kind of crane flies those are but they look like they would taste nasty.
Steve

John,

I would have like to see more DOF here but you were working at the extremes due to fading light so that's OK. I downloaded and sharpened the face some more so recommend you go and give it some more selective sharpening. The bright streak on the right is a bit distracting. Since you mentioned working on the BG, I recommend you select it and reduce its opacity.

Well done considering the low light. I would give it more room and agree with Robert's comments.

This is a great picture. In my opinion sparrows are very underrated, and I think their muted browns and grays are every bit as attractive as a gaudy bird like a goldfinch. It astounds me how many insects they can catch and hold at one time. I agree the light streak in the background would best be toned down but apart from that nitpicking observation I think this is an exceptional photograph. Thanks for sharing.