Male Merganser.

[Tom Cudzilo]

This guy was displaying for the ladies.
Not much dont in post other than crop.

Camera:	Canon EOS 7D
Exposure Time:	0.0006s (1/1600)
Aperture:	f/4.5
ISO:	640
Focal Length:	500mm (800mm in 35mm)

[gail bisson]

Interesting composition going with a vertical.. I do like it but could also see a version with all the room at the top so the duck has room to look above and left.
I like the well in the water created by his body.
Very nice HA and I like the open beak.
The light was quite harsh for you and the whites are hot/blown.You should try to tame them in DPP.
Is this a big crop? The IQ is lacking a bit.
Gail

[Marina Scarr]

I really like the behavior here and I think I would have gone with a horizontal to showcase that. The head is not looking sharp to my eyes.

[Robert Holguin]

Great shot.
I really like the pose and nice light.
Seems a tad soft.
Well done.

[Dennis Zaebst]

Maybe it's because I have old eyes, but the bird looks sharp to me Tom (maybe I can't detect anything sharper, hah)...but the overall photo does give the impression of slight softness. I was wondering if the extensive OOF areas at top and bottom contribute to that impression? Just a thought. Also, if you have only done cropping in post, I am sure you could sharpen it a lot in post. I like the image very much, and it's a beautiful bird with good light.

[Tom Cudzilo]

I think I have to work on my "posting for the web" processing technique because original or printed is very sharp and checking the histogram the brightest whites are at 250... Thank you guys for comments, and to be honest now that I look at it again it does look soft on the web.