Hi Dan I like the thinking behind this image Actually I have one with exact same pose (different species)
I think for this to work you need to have all that you would apply to a normal image with the bird looking your way. To start with the reflection would like to see better reflection with more detail in the bird With water that smooth maybe is possible. No idea of the exp comp sue wish you would include, might be the most important part. The bird shows high contrast and wioth very little detail blacks are blocked Would love to see a smother tonal change.
Pose wise I feel it can work with all above mentioned elements working for the best Hoping you continue to explore these type images Difficult but so rewarding Might consider posting the next out of the box?
Thanks for the comments and help. The blurry line is the reflection of a stick in the background. I have not tried to remove it for fear that I would make a mess of it. I will play with it. I will have to see if I can dig up the exp comp info? Dan
Here is a redo. I was able to remove the stick ok. I also tried to give the blacks a little detail? The exposure info is f3.5, 1/2000sec at ISO 100, +.67 exp. comp. Dan