Jean-Luc,
I can see why you are addicted. What an endearing little creature. You captured its vulnerability by wonderfully isolating it and giving us the appearance of this little bird alone in a big bad world. I love the light, damp feathers and the overall clarity. WHile a little more room below for virtual feet could be debatable, I don't miss it. Thanks for sharing. :)
Akos hit the high points. Very charming, sharp, well exposed, nice head angle. Impressive set of legs for such a little guy. Nice shooting angle.
Lovely background, blending of water and BG.
My only thought on composition has to do with your message. If you are trying to show his isolation, little bird in a big world, as Akos commented, then I would definetly crop it looser. I like the image very much as is, it just depends on what you are trying to communicate.
My only concern here is that I find the subject rather tight in the frame. A looser comp is all I have to suggest as I love the rest of this image. I'd be addicted to if I had access to one of these little cuties :-) Great BG and water, I love how the water grips up against the legs, and the small traces of blues in the water around that area really do add alot.
I have to agree that if you are attempting to make this little guy look as though he is isolated out in that big bad world, it needs a wider crop. That will add to it's vulerability. That would be a totally different photograph than the one depicted which is outstanding. The detail and the BG are absolutely out of sight in this picture. I do think a wider crop would make it more powerful in it's story telling however.
To be honest I did not have the "big bad world" story in mind while taking this picture. I can definitely see how the head angle and expression could lead to the vulnerability theme though.
This said I hear the tightness of the framing, even for a close portrait. I have quite a lot more pixels at the bottom but then the reflection of the body become IMHO a massive distraction (think white blob on a dark bg).
I added 200 pixels of canvas at the top and reframed back to the full 15Mp image without the rotation adjustment (which I think I can live without). Not sure it will completely address the "virtual legs" concern but please let me know if that does the job better.
BTW, thanks for all the constructive comments, it really helps to se thru someone's else eyes...