I have made the same mistake over and over again – trying to get that “full frame” image and going overboard. Now, I much prefer images with the bird a bit smaller in the frame.

Purely personal taste. One of the best tips that I ever got was early on from a guy named J. Pete Myers, a brilliant and funny shorebird biologitst, who was working at VIREO in Philadelphia at the time. As a beginner, I tried to get every bird “full frame.” J. Pete suggested that I give the birds more room in the frame, room to be so to speak.

For me the Redshank definitely needed more room below as the virtual feet are pretty much clipped. After that, it needed more room above as I almost always want more room above the bird than below. And after that, I needed to add canvas in front of the bird as I love 3X2 and do not usually like boxy type compositions.