Singing Red-winged BB

Canon 7D, 500mm f/4 + 1.4x TC. Monopod

1/1000, f/5.6, ISO 1000

Crop to 76% (13.6 of 18MP).

This is from the same day as the Common Black-Hawk and the Pied-billed Grebe. In ACR, I brought the exposure up 0.3 stops, used recovery and fill, and desaturated the red channel by about 20 points until it looked ok on my calibrated monitor (the reds still look a little bright on my uncalibrated laptop). I also applied a selective brightness adjustment around the eye to make it stand out a little more. This ability to make selective adjustments in ACR (using the adjustment brush) is something I just learned about and found quite helpful here. I did not use any NR, as unfortunately the noise is mostly in the dark bird, not the bright bg.

I know these guys are awfully common, but I thought I got a good pose and setting here, with good sharpness throughout the bird. Does the noise in the bird detract for you?

Comments and critiques appreciated. Please view larger version if possible.