Black-necked stilt.

[Jack Backs]

Black-necked Stilt from last June. Taken at mud flat in eastern Missouri. Nearly full framed but cropped a little tight because of debris in front of the bird.
No silky smooth tans and blues here. :(
Nikon Z9, 500mmf4VRII, Tc-14EIII
F6.3, 1/1250s, iso500

[Dorian Anderson]

Low angle makes this sing. The exposure and detail look great across the whole bird. The tiny irregularities on water's surface add some nice texture as well.

Ideally, you'd have a raised foot (to suggest action) and a bit more eye contact to strengthen connection with the viewer. Curious is you have any other frames with either or both of those.

[Jack Backs]

This was the typical backgound for most of my images.

[Jack Backs]

This might be better, but cropped tight to remove background clutter.

[Jack Backs]

I suppose it wouldn't take to much to remove the dark spots behind and below the bird on this one.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Yes, a bit more head turn and a raised foot would have been ideal indeed, but still a good-looking scene overall. The others you posted do address these issues, with the last one being my fave. Back to the top one, it does look like it needs a touch of CW rotation, and I would have loved a bit more room all around. Appealing background, and nice whites and blacks with good details in both.