This can be a tough bird to get perched. The angle looks a little steep as though you were under the bird. Try to get him on a perch that's a bit more level with your camera lens. Also, in this situation I would set up a perch in an area that has a cleaner background. Lastly, the lighting is quite harsh here. I suggest early morning lighting will open up the shadows. A good start though....
Bruce the bird is nice and sharp. As Charlie mentioned the background is busy and the lighting is harsh. A touch of fill flash may have helped lighten the shadows under the bird's tail and wing.
All that being said I would still like to have an image of this species in my collection.
I took some advice and tried to make this picture better. Does anyone think this is better or even worth the time? I liked the redbud tree and was trying to get the birds in it. Of course, he wouldn't come lower for me. This was cropped to vertical and some cloning was done to take out some of the more distracting background.
Bruce I like this portrait (vertical) presentation much better than your original post. The tighter crop definitely let's the viewer focus more on the bird. The cloning helps too. You might try a touch more cloning to remove the two twigs intersecting at the bird's head.
Also when cloning be careful that you don't duplicate something obvious, like a twig, right beside the original. Sometimes those duplicates will become obvious after a first glance of the cloned version.
FYI your re-worked version is probably a frame or two away from the original since the bird's head is in a slightly different position.
Eastern Towhee in Redbud Tree
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