Skywalkers and Repost

Hey Jim,
You have a lot going on in this image - great title by the way.
The composition as presented feels a bit awkward but without knowing if this is full frame or cropped, it is hard to make a suggestion for other options. Fortunately that sky background would allow you to add more canvas easily to the left and the top. The inclusion of the tree with all the Starlings (?), although interesting, does not add to the three main subjects and is to dominant a feature in my opinion and should be reduced or eliminated all together. Just a few thoughts on a sweet capture.

I think they're the same three I saw on the Platte in  March....  Nice shot.

All of the elements are very good but altogether it doesn't quite work for me. Maybe a little more room at the top and a little more room for the birds to fly in to? Or a shot a second later when the tree full of starlings doesn't fill quite as much of the frame? Wish I could articulate my reaction better.

And they hang there forever.  A really nice shot of this characteristic landing pose, Jim.  Having the tree top in the image adds a lot of perspective, which I like.  Well done.

Very cool finding all three in the same pose Jim. I'm not concerned with the inclusion of the tree and Starlings,  but more the room at the top of the frame-seems a tad tight to me. Easily remedied as Mike noted. Nice capture.

Thanks everyone for your comments on this one.  There is certainly a diversity of opinions on it, and I see that as a good thing. Personally, I like the original post with the inclusion of the brewers blackbird (not starling) tree, and agree with a couple of you that it helps to give perspective to the image.  However, I do agree that the cranes need more room at the top.  I feel they have enough room to fly into, as they were descending diagonally down to the left of the tree.  I have included a repost that addresses the crowding at the top.  If anyone is still looking, I would appreciate any comments as to whether there is an improvement or not. Does it need more room on the left?  Thanks again.

Hey Jim,
The re-post is a big improvement and allows for a better feel of all the elements in the composition. The Blackbird filled tree is a cool feature and now it shares the frame without being over powering. I would still consider removing the canvas to added to the right in the repost and put it back to where it was in the original post and add about that much sky on the left.
Great work and well worth your efforts. 

What a fine image of these Sandhills, Jim.  Typical "speed brake" landing style, which I've seen many times at Bosque del Apache.  Amazing that you were able to get the three in similar postures, preventing overlaps of not only the birds, but the tree to boot, and the perching birds add a nice touch.   As to the comp, It works well for me horizontally with enough "flying into" space, and vertically more room up top would make it a winner.