Here are some shots I did of a couple American Coots at a small pond near the house. Went hoping for some herons or egrets but these guys didn't turn out too bad even if common. Please let me know your critiques.
JC, it is always difficult getting good-looking overall exposures with black subjects in harsh sunlight. They usually come out better on overcast days or with everything in shadows.
1, 2, & 5 have a blue/magenta cast because the white balance was set for sunlight, yet many of the feathers were in shade. If you shot RAW, that is easily corrected by using the WB eyedropper tool to select an area that should be white or black.
Since the EXIF is not included, I can't tell what settings you used. Some of the specular highlights in the background could be blurred in post-processing.
Shutter speed in #1 should have been double what it was.
#3 appears to have a slight tilt.
I made some adjustments to #1, and if you want me to remove my revision, just say so.
