Gannets at Bempton

Went back to Bempton at the weekend to see if I could improve on the first lot now I have removed the UV filter from my lens. The light once the rain stopped was great. If you don't like gannets, this is not for you! All shots undoctored apart from a little noise removal and no. 6 which is cropped. All comments/suggestions for processing improvements welcome as always.
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[IMG]http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i479/jvs49/Gannets/IMGP9122.jpg[/IMG]
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[IMG]http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i479/jvs49/Gannets/IMGP9304.jpg[/IMG]
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[IMG]http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i479/jvs49/Gannets/IMGP9319.jpg[/IMG]
4
[IMG]http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i479/jvs49/Gannets/IMGP9187.jpg[/IMG]
5
[IMG]http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i479/jvs49/Gannets/IMGP9357.jpg[/IMG]
6
[IMG]http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i479/jvs49/Gannets/IMGP9361crop.jpg[/IMG]
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[IMG]http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i479/jvs49/Gannets/IMGP9338.jpg[/IMG]
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[IMG]http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i479/jvs49/Gannets/IMGP9125a.jpg[/IMG]
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[IMG]http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i479/jvs49/Gannets/IMGP9363.jpg[/IMG]
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[IMG]http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i479/jvs49/Gannets/IMGP9160-1.jpg[/IMG]

5,6,8 and 10 are lovely well shot.

I really like number 4 even though it doesn't show the same grace as the others

Priceless expressions well captured with Nos 5 & 8.

Oh, definitely 4 Birds in flight are a dime a dozen, birds that look incredibly foolish are much rarer It also sits nicely in the frame, some of the others feel a bit awkward, especially where you have cropped off wingtips.

I also like the mad expressions in 5 and 8.

Great set of shots jvs. You say you removed the uv filter from your lens. Did you notice any difference?

Thanks to all for responding! I feel as if I'm beginning to make a little progress at last. For the record, the cropped off wingtips were unintended - the birds were too close to fit in the frame by the time I picked them up in focus.
And to reply to john941, yes, a huge difference! Shots went from focussed but dull to much sharper. There's a post of mine called Birds Eye Delight which has shots with the UV filter in place. The comments and discussion there made me take the filter off - and it was excellent advice!

Much better but I think you need to do a little bit more doctoring than just noise removal. For example Number 6 with just a quick bit of sharpening looks so much better to me.

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v188/Sockpuppetuk/IMGP9361crop.jpg[/IMG]

Interesting looking bird and well captured. Mike is
right about the sharpening It's made a big
difference

I can see the difference made by Mike's sharpening, but I repeat that I'm a relative novice here and processing photos is a bit hit and miss until I get to know exactly a) what effects are needed and b) how to get them. So Mike, could you tell me just what you did in terms of sharpening, please? I've got access to PS Elements 7 and Corel Paintshop Pro X3. I don't know which is better, but the Corel seems a bit easier to use. If you point me in the right direction, I'll play around and see what I can come up with. Thanks.

#4,5,6,8,10 - all excellent shots !

#4 edges it over #5 only because the wing tips are missing !

I use a plugin to do my sharpening with through Elements 9 but 7 must have some sort of option.

Enhance/adjust sharpness?

Lovely shots Vern, I also agree with Mike on the sharpening. Number 8 for me I love the expression on the gannet's face, I would crop the left side off to get rid of the blurred flower? it would give it a nice squared look and put the bird on the thirds. BTW what lens was it?