Quite different that Night Herons here and I've not yet got an in flight shot I'm happy with yet. This is nicely sharp Stuart and you've caught the side light very well, the eye clarity for an in flight image is extra good. Head is well seperated from the body and lovely up swept wing form...no nit pics from me, lovely photography !
Sorry for the slow reply, I was off the grid for a few days. I think clouds do add a lot of depth and interest. I wasn't really suggesting adding them, more hoping that the original capture had them, but you did a good job! My wording wasn't very clear.