The water really tells a story here. It's rising up around the bird's legs, there's a wave crashing down in the BG, and there a bunch of small droplets catching what's left of the sun. I like that you got the bird's head above the breaking wave. I think I would apply a bit of CW rotation to level out the horizon.
I'm surprised this image hasn't garnered more attention as it is highly appealing! This has alot going for it, especially water-wise as Doug points out, and the low angle. Very fluid image:cool:. I would only slightly tone down the brighter top of the crashing wave directly in front of the bill, but all else is really nice.
Good point. I actually would have liked the wave to to not be cresting there, rather it be smooth the width of the frame. The variance of the water is definitely an appealing aspect of this image for me.