James, this is as good as it gets. Bird angle and light angle are perfect. If mine, I'd crop to have a little less room behind and a little more in front...but these come down to personal preferences. As-is, this is quite stunning too.
Love the sharpness, the detail on the neck and upper breast, and the far underwing. The position of the near wing is unfortunate.... You are of course quite a skilled flight photographer!
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Another gadwall....love these guys. Almost a herringbone patter on their neck. Picture perfect flight shot as always, and a ventral view this time.:) Background looks great...cloudy green and aperture choice left you a wonderful focus plane with tons of shutter speed. I bet that didn't happen by accident.....Artie is right about you.
Thanks all for the very nice comments much appreciated... Joerg I shoot all my stuff from a tripod the AFS600F4 I is just to heavy of a lens for me to handhold.:)