What a lovely capture and superb timing John. He is so small in this image and it certainly gives us the idea of the size of the sandpiper. I was thinking of a bit more of a crop but you would lose the lotus flower and the whole story that this image is conveying. The BG is busy but that is the way it was. I like it.
I like it too, excellent habitat depicted here. The Spotted Sandpiper looks right at home. Just some noise that can be easily fixed with your favorite noise reduction software.