I love the action you captured as the nestlings battle for enough food. This is clearly survival of the fittest. You are quite correct in that the wing of the adult does make a good frame and eliminates some of the clutter of the nest. It is really hard to get good nest shots with the clutter.
While I really like this image and the story it tells I wonder if a really tight crop may tell a stronger story. I did a bit of experimenting (shown below) and I wish the adult's eye were present but. As a tight actions shot it is something you do not see often   Posted: 10/01/2026 18:40:12

Bravo Cindy, you captured a lively feeding moment with strong impact, a ton of visual interest, and a clear story. The hungry chicks, open bills, and spread wings convey the urgency and competition for food without needing a narrative. As they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words."

Although the overlapping birds take a moment to untangle visually, that same overlap communicates the chaos of feeding time. Meanwhile, there's a photographic expression a photo buddy of mine used frequently that applies here - "The background is as important as the subject," and from an artistic standpoint that's absolutely true in this case.

In my VF I cropped in on the right to place the subject's off-center, then darkened and desaturated the background to better reveal the subjects. And while I did not do it in my VF - if allowed in your club's competition rules, I'd consider removing the horizontal branch that dominates the top of the frame.

Nonetheless, a compelling wildlife behavior photograph whose timing and storytelling are its greatest strengths
  Posted: 10/01/2026 18:52:03

Hi Cindy,
The frenetic action in your photo pulls me in immediately and the story is clear! I can almost hear the chicks competing for their meal. Once "in" the photo, my eyes go to the triangle of the chicks' eyes in the center. I agree, I like the tighter crop to bring a little more attention on the eyes and faces. I would try darkening the background, and desaturating the foliage. I would also try brightening the eyes/faces. Overall, I think the behavior is what makes this image successful.   Posted: 10/06/2026 00:03:59

What an amazing photo Cindy, the interactions here is the main story, with three larger chicks in this feeding frenzy and the poor parent trying to feed them.

Some birds can be so difficult to photograph because of their busy environment, either trees or reeds, especially the herons.

I think the tighter crop suggested work better, but I would definitely lighten faces a tiny bit and darkening the background highlights. And dodge and burn the parents wings to get more definition and detail.

Very impactful behavioural photo, well done!   Posted: 10/14/2026 12:37:11

Thank you all for the inputs. I like Larry's tight crop but there just aren't enough pixels in the original for it to hold up. Too bad they were so far away across the pond, and you couldn't see them from closer spots.
I cropped in further and darkened the image overall, which brought out more detail in the adult's wing. Because many of the other branches, including the one the birds are on, emanate from the horizontal branch, I didn't try removing it. I wish they'd been down the branch a bit further so I could've cropped it out.   Posted: 10/16/2026 20:01:56

Cindy,
Like the others, I'm loving this shot! You captured a terrific feeding moment! While the action was great the lighting was tough. Lots of green around the birds that is distracting. I like Larry's crop. It gets to the heart of the story.   Posted: 10/16/2026 21:42:27

Baby birds are ugly little creatures, aren't they? Great action and I don't think your crop is too wide. I find it easier to see what's going on with the extra greenery around the birds. It's nice and sharp, too, and hey must have been flapping frantically!   Posted: 10/21/2026 21:34:06