Once again you handled the DOF well, Jonathan. Interesting hopper, very nice BG that complements the subject well. I do wish you had been a little further to the right while maintaining the sensor parallel to the hopper--partially to move it a bit further back in the frame but also so we could see a tad more of the face. I also think the farthest right leaf/spine entering the frame from bottom could go since it is hanging there without it's attachment to the stem (possibly a couple on the the left as well, but there is no gap between them and the main body so they aren't distracting like the one on the right).
Mitch I agree I tried to get more to the right but as you can see he was on gorse bush and I was sitting on one at the time and it became increasingly unlikely that I was going to go further to the right
This is an interesting critter, and the color and sharpness are both excellent. I too like the background and agree with Mitch that more of the face would have been better. Since the subject is facing to the right, you might also consider cropping a little off the left side, to put the subject more off center.
Hi Jonathan... I think that this is beautiful... excellent detail and exposure... I am going against the grain... I like the pose and angle captured... beautiful bg... I would have cropped it ever so slightly... otherwise great standard as per usual... WD!