Lovely flight pose and I like the mottled BG. Stuart, I rarely see you commenting on others images. With all the emphasis we have been putting on critiquing and commenting, it would be nice to see you making comments about others' work.
Great capture in the in-coming heron! Nice wide wingspread, stretched out legs, the ruffled feathers at the neck and a clean view of the eye. I like how oil paint simplifies the details in the bkgd.