Don't you hate when someone else has the same idea? This is a pretty shot tho. The exposure on the feathers is good. Focus seems a tad soft on the head. Did you try messing with levels in post-processing? I'm also not sure that a different crop wouldn't help. He's just so very centered. :o)
I think it's a great shot, but perhaps the composition shouldn't have been quite so central. I think there's something not right here, but I'm not sure what, and that's the only explanation I can come up with that makes any sense. (5)