Is it real or is it Lexar?

constructive criticism appreciated. 3rd in a series.

Nicely composed, David, with good subject placement in the frame and sharp focus. The backlighting understandably caused a bit of underexposure on the egret (?), but the details and colors are all there. I think you got get away with some brightening of the subject without any loss of image quality as long as you don't overdo it. You also might want to look into the banding around the top of the beak -- it may just be backlighting as opposed to artifacting but it is rather noticeable.

I am pretty sure you are seeing backlighting. This is clearly a case where having a good flash with a diffuser would have made a big difference. I bracket my exposures so with a flash, it would have been possible to layer two images and get both better detail and the effect of the backlighting.