If you have spikes on the histogram, you have lost data. Spikes in the shadows (left side), too dark/black, lost detail. Spikes in the highlights (right side), too light/white, lost detail. Now compensate, aperture, ISO, shutter speed. Try for balance. Your first shot is a test shot and adjust accordingly. Often, you may take several shots to get it right. If the dynamic range is too much, bracket. You don't have to use the camera's bracketing feature. You can manually take 3- 5 shots at the extremes and blend in post. Not sure where to start - ISO 100, F/16 at 1/25 sec.

PS; Explose for the light, get as much detail from the highlights as possible. You can likely retrieve detail from the shadows but there is no detail from overexposed highlights. Careful- noise is hiding in the shadows.

Not true - you are often on the wrong side of the light - either strong sidelight or backlight, when a fill flash is priceless. A Better Beamer will throw enough light to illuminate a bird 80 ft away with some fill light. As far as mounting it, if you use an Arca-Swiss plate on the tripod collar, you can attach a Wimberley F1 Flash bracket - which raises the flash above everything, yet places it in line with the support, so you don't really change the balance point much and won't interfere with hot shoe mounted accessories.