I agree with others a really fine capture that needs some tweaks that will really make the image "pop". If you have Lightroom, the adjustments are rudimentary and if you duplicate the image and work on that you really can't mess anything up! And you will learn a ton. I opened the image on my MacBook and imported it into Photos which allows adjustments on jpegs. Along with the levels adjustment and other minor adjustments for additional brightening, the eye color enhanced a little, a bit of vignette and voila!; you've really got a winner that most anyone would be happy to hang on their wall! Since you've asked, an no one has posted their results, I'm including my quick edit for your perusal.

(Download)

Well done Larry!

Could also be hooded merganser?

That first image is a charm!!!

Check out 3 Legged Thing. They Make 2 different sizes; I'm 5'8" and chose the shorter version. They are rated for a lot of support and I use a Canon R5 with a version 1 600mm with no issues. I paired it with the Wimbberly mono gimbal head and its a winning combination. Check out Whistling Wings Photography on Youtube for his video of the harness system he uses. I use a similar version and it works well, eliminating changing heights of the monopod!

Nice photo of Jack-O-Lantern mushroom. If you are up for a challenge, try going back after dark and taking a long exposure as these are known to glow-in-the-dark!

I'll second the recommendation for the Avian Center for birds of prey just South of Georgetown as well as Huntington Beach State Park having visited both in early April this year.

Nailed it Larry!

Nice capture Larry!

Garamond is where it's at!!!

That's a fair price, but I've decided to go another route.

Interested in extension tubes.

Nice shot Larry, looking forward to more!

To get the highest frame rate you need to change to electronic shutter!

Thank you!