Excellent photo. The straight-on look is just right. The whiskers, the duckweed, the scooping action, the fur detail and the disheveled hair all add interest. Great behavioral shot. For a head-on shot, I tend to center the image more than you have here but that's a minor point. This is an outstanding shot.
thanks for all the input.
By habit I usually don't ever center a subject, but with the head on pose, I will explore that possibility more
No flash and catchlights here would be a bit unnatural, as the nutria sit there with eyes closed while doing this feeding behavior.
What you see is the thick black lids that they have,
Steve, they used to come to the bank to feed when the water was clear, but now they have a feast no matter where they are