Very good catch and the blurred background works very well. Yes, I agree that the dark bit is distracting. I think I would crop a bit more and clone out the rest.
Very cute action, Jim. The colors and detail are outstanding. I agree that a bit of cloning or painting of the darker area would make this fine image even better.
This is wonderful!! I was so taken by the bird’s action that I didn’t notice the dark area till I read the comments. Yes, I’d remove it, but more importantly – if you’re going to find scenes like this, you really need to upgrade to the R5 so you can hit one button and start shooting high-quality video in the middle of a regular stills shoot! (Slo-mo is a great option, too.)