Taken out of the window of my truck early one morning on a lake dam road. Full frame plus, I added some water on the right to give the bird a little more breathing room.
The bird never looked more towards me before taking off.
D500/500mmF4VRII/TC-14EIII
1/1600s, f8, iso640
Nice and sharp with good details but the image appears quite underexposed.
I would increase exposure by at least 2/3 of a stop.
For my taste, I would crop up from the bottom to remove the leg reflection and add the same amount back to the top of the frame.
Another suggestion would be to decrease the saturation of the blue water- it is overwhelming the bird a little bit.
A few tweaks could really make this image sing!
Gail
The heron looks good (except for the head angle as you mention) and standing om a neat semi-submerged perch. The biggest issue is the saturation and hue of the water. As Gail mentions, it is overwhelming. Good call adding canvas at right.