Wonderful! I like the exposure on the bird that leaves it as a semi-silhouette. Any chance you might tame the sun to be less blown?
Have you tried painting with a yellow or orange brush? Or cloning/healing, using sky area as a source?
Would something like this be more acceptable? I think it takes care of the blown branches a bit as well. Of course, I was working with a small jpeg, RAW might offer a better result.
Surge Protector
Ah, but of course! Duh! And I was thinking you have some new post processing plug-in