Nice photo!!
I dissagree with all the comments you got saying that this is not a candid shot. I got similar comments for my photo just becaused I used a bird as well. It does fit into the candid challenge!
I'm not much for receiving or giving comments, but since Candids are
near and dear to my heart, I have decided to give comment on every entry
in this challenge.
Unfortunately, candids of animals are really not what I look for in a good candid. Animals are aware and both unaware at the same time of a photographer, nor do they care either way. Too easy, no comfort zone lost. It's a 1 for me. Bad focus, and the frame wasn't the best choice for this shot in my opinion.
nice idea, something i'd like to be able to shoot, but not for this challenge. love the graphical qualities, but the image itself needs work. focus is soft and either noisy or artifacted. also think you over did the bordering a bit. you probably could have run this through neat image or some type of noise reduction. if your score isn't where you would like it to be, you might want to read this thread