First, congrats on your top 20 finish with this wonderfully composed candid.
This is truly a wonderful capture, from the sweeping lines of the branches to the pose of the bird. The fore-branch cutting the bird provides a sense of motion, while the back-branch provides a much needed feeling of depth.
As for negatives -- aside from the nitpicking of an OOF tail feather and the general softness of the image (personal preferrence applies, of course), the only real negative is the under-exposure of the little guys face. I find it a real shame he wasn't facing the other direction to take better advantage of available light -- but failing that, judicious adjustment of the tonal values would have brought the face back into parity with the bird's tail end.
this is a very good image. it has a calm studio feel and the dof works very well adding a little sense of depth withthe twig in the back. the focus though feels a little soft. this is just my humble opinion.. :]
8 - This is very nice, really like the colors. Background is nice and simple and 'pure'. Criticism; difficult, especially seeing as this is likely 'opportune', but sharper, but you likely know that, especially on the face. A little lighter too, as is on the tail/wing, make this better in my opinion. Difficult to adjust the lighting/contrast, especially seeing as the 'rear end' looks like it is starting to 'go' as is. Good capture though. Up to 8 from 7.
the photo is gorgeous - I love the blurred stick in the background for the added depth it gives. I think the less cluttered "Jay Bird" would have been a suitable title. Bit of grain in the background, especially in the darker greys - intentional?