Thanks, Austin. I see what you mean, but if I rotate it to get rid of that patch of water, I risk tilting the chick and cropping would crowd things. Maybe I'll try cloning it.
I actually wish you had gone wider for us to see some of the legs reflected there at bottom. Otherwise I'm really liking this image alot. Great walking pose, nice details, and the blades of grass are a nice touch. I also love the wet look to the legs and feet. Bummer about the darker smudge behind the subject, but all-in-all a very strong image you have here.
Super pose on this little avocet. The dark behind it doesn't bother me at all. What distracts a bit is the front line. However, you can't rotate b/c then the image won't be level and you'll notice it in the BG. Damned if you do and damned if you don't. It's amazing how the legs look as though they are made out of rubber. I suggest taking a little more off of the bottom to give it a clean edge, and then clean up the BG on the right of the bird. This is quite a fine image, and I would be happy with it.