@JohanLarsson Well, it was overcast, so blue is more the right color balance. The sun was behind light cloud cover, so it was very bright, but filtered by water, and shade tends to have a cooler color balance.
Bird photography is largely about "head angle".
Actually, bird photography is really all about angles. :D
Lighting angle, head angle, body angle, camera angle.
Low camera angles create those pleasing perspectives and creamy backgrounds.
22° sun-side sun angle creates nice shading
You want the bird to be looking at you, either like the Grebe, or like the dowitcher where it's bill is out and visible, rather than head on or looking out of the frame or otherwise anywhere other than the viewer
You want the birds body to be at the right phase angle to the sun to bring out detail in the feathers
and create a nice soft shadow falloff
It's ALL about the angles....
which is interesting...as I'd never quite thought about it that way until now...
The birds head is actually cocked a little weird in the solo dowitcher photo...
It's kind of looking up, instead of into the lens...
...WOW...this is some amazing prescience...