Sandhill Crane Baking in the Freezing Cold

This is an extreme focal length shot of a Sandhill Crane taken at the Bosque on New Year's Day. The temperature was in the mid-teens when this image was captured at around lunchtime. Even though the temperature was well below freezing, there was a tremendous amount of heat shimmer. Because I had 1200mm of glass, the thermal effect is much more pronounced. Other than a slight saturation boost, this is straight out of the camera. I thought the image looked kind of cool so I thought I'd post it in OOTB. What do you all think of it?

Attachment 85598

Canon 1D Mark IV, 600mm + 2x, f/13, 1/3200, ISO 1600, manual exposure, hand held

Hi Doug, I think this is very interesting and appreciate the story that goes with it. We've had some very cold weather here in the SW and teens at mid-day is pretty amazing. I like the heat wave effect you captured, gives a painterly look to the image. It would be nice to have a sharp eye, but the overall look is nice. Thanks for sharing here!

I love it Doug! Thanks for sharing this with us. The shimmer is beautiful and this has a nice painterly effect. Excellent pose and comp.:)

Hi Doug, I too like the "heat-wave" effect and the pose of the bird. Nicely done!

Doug, this is great! It looks like a painting:)

1200mm? Holy cow, Doug! I can't even begin to imagine what its like to shoot with a lens that big.

I really love that shimmer. Is there any way you can bring the lighter tones of the crane out a bit more? I find he's blending in with the BG and I'd love to see him grab a bit more of the spotlight.

Excellent pose and love the effect on the BG, Doug. It's very neat! :) I agree with Jules on bringing up the lighter tones a bit. I would also perhaps sharpen the bird a little bit.

Appreciate the feedback!

Doug, beautiful incoming pose and the bg is nice. For me, a small bit of sharpening of the head probably be sufficient to make this stand out.