I assume its a female from the brownish coloring. (I'm not a birder, but trying to learn what I can.)
I hadn't been bird hunting in months -- nothing but heavy fog here the last half of the summer and then I got really busy. Went out a few days ago to see what I could find, which wasn't a lot and the angle of sunrise was right down the shore. It was way too mucky to get in the water -- I wore waterproof boots (and am not afraid of cleaning tripod legs) but even at the line where the ground got visibly wet, on a very shallow shore, I could hardy pick up my feet -- they were caked with gloppy clay mud. So I only got down as low as I could squat.
Canon 5D Mk III, 600mm II + 1.4X III. Gitzo with Wimberley II. ISO 1600, f/8, 1/1500,sec. 45% of original -- a vertical cropped top and bottom. The original included the full reflection but it wasn't very attractive. Basic LR adjustments then to PS CS 6 for minor BG touchup and a small amount of detail extractor. I lightened the reflection at the bottom to keep the eye in the frame and left the piece of mud to serve as a base.
The exported JPEG was sharpened very slightly and masked out in some parts.
Bird/backdrop great Diane.
I know it sounds daft but my eye keeps getting drawn to the "wobbly" leg reflections. Once you see it the (ormy) eye gets drawn. No big deal though- still a great shot.
JR
Nice colors and details. Even though not blown, it looks as though you may have done some recovery on some of the whites. While I like side lighting, in this case it doesn't really allow for the viewer to see the brilliant red eye of this stunning bird. IT's nice to see the layering of feathers on her back.
Yeah, Johnny -- I was hoping you wouldn't notice. These guys are a challenge to shoot.
There wasn't a red eye in the bunch, Marina -- I'll have to try another day. I was hoping first light would be softer -- I was hunkered down in the goppy mud before sunrise -- but the dynamic range was too high within minutes and the sun angle bad. Nobody hangs out further around on the side of the water that has morning sun behind the photographer.
Black-necked Stilt
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These guys are a challenge to shoot. 
