David, the exposure on the whites look good, any lighter and you risk blowing them out...it's the light angle that isn't working to your advantage. The best solution would have been to have the sun directly behind you. If the bird was close, then maybe lots of flash may have helped (do you have a Better Beamer?).
Compositionally it is a bit tight at bottom, although I understand the perch is not too pretty and you may have not wanted to include more of it. You caould also crop off a bit off the top.
Intense eye contact and pose, David. I think fill flash with a BB would have been an option depending on how far you were form the bird. As it stands a fair bit can be achieved with dodging, highlight selection and linear burn, darkening down the sky and a touch more sharpening. Not sure what you think of that.
Tony - I like what you've suggested and done to the bird. Thank you. The sky seems a little too bright to me, but that's just a matter of personal preference. I really do appreciate your comment and effort on my behalf. - David
I just don't have enough experience with fill flash. I need to practice on something that doesn't fly away in different ambient conditions. Thanks for your feedback.
Great eye contact, and lovely detail on the chest David. Apart from the angle of light, you captured a great image. Tony has done a great job in recovering some of the areas.