Suantering in the Sun...

[David Roach]

EOS R6 RF 100-500 @500 f7.1 1/5300 ISO 800 HH, Manual EXP, cropped slightly for better composition

Was imaging great blue heron pair when this little cattle egret flew in and began to walk right into the last evening sun. Saw the white with shadowed BG and couldn't resist.

[John Mack]

I like the framing. The setting is nice with those flowers along the bottom. Detail on those whites is quite nice.

[Brian Sump]

David, for me the shot has a lot going for it.

As an environmental showcase, it's really nice. Nice dark but colorful bkg helps the subject pop, the foot up pose is awesome and a touch of violet in the flowers works great.

My only wish is that the Egret's head was a little more parallel with the camera pointing left (avoiding shadows and better profile). Obviously you can't control the bird but we can wish I guess.

TFS

[Dorian Anderson]

Detail and exposure on bird look pretty good, so that's a good starting point. Habitat is perfectly representative, so I think it works fine. I agree with Brian about the head angle, but the stare/look you caught is pretty sweet with the eye.
The dark blog in the upper left quarter is a bit overpowering. I do love the detail on the leg and foot!