Last Snowy Egret (for awhile)

SonyA700~Sony70-400G@400mm~ISO640~F8~1/1250 sec~manual exposure~10-25-2009~Brays Bayou, Houston, Texas~CS4/Topaz Adjust3(small detail preset)/Topaz Clean2
comments and critique welcomed.

Since it would take so long (many months) for me to show you guys all the Snowy Egret images I've created this year, and I do have other avian subjects that are being left out, I created a gallery of just Snowy Egrets. Actually 172 of them, many using Topaz etc., although some are just plain old photographs. I used a Adobe Bridge flash slide show set up, and although it seems to work alright on my end, I'd like to hear of any problems.
My 2009 Snowy Egret Collection

regards~Bill

Bill, I enjoy your Snowy Egret images very much. I like this habitat shot w/ the shadow of the beak on the wing. Open mouth,dangling feet and details make this special.

Love the pose here, Bill, and great details on the bird. Personally I would like to see a less detailed BG to focus more attention on the bird. Maybe removing the topaz effect from the BG would work. Very nice image regardless.

Thanks Denise and Christopher. Christopher; I examined the image again, with your suggestion in mind. I don't think a less detailed background is what I had in mind, yet I agree the background is a problem. My idea has been to make the environment and bird equally prominent in the image, and let the "style" tie them together. However, there is a marked difference in detail (the bird being more detailed) that I hadn't noticed before, and this is detrimental. The solution has to do with a sufficient DOF to bring all elements in sharp focus, which F8 didn't accomplish here.
Appreciate the feedback! regards~Bill

my images posted at BPN
My 2009 Snowy Egret Collection