When I compared your picture with the one I edited, I realized that I had added too much blur: both in the level of blur and in surface area (I think I blurred too much of the rock). As a result, the bird seemed to be “detached” from its surroundings. I think one of the main aims in editing these kind of pictures is to allow the bird to blend in with its surroundings, while, at the same time, preventing the surroundings from distracting the observer from the subject.
I agree. Though I am not a big fan of heavily edited wildlife pictures, I prefer @austinvinar’s last picture over the original he posted. It looks like if it was shot with some kind of f/2.8 lens… 🙂
However, I find this composition to be rather centered. Personally, I would crop a part of the left side and maybe a bit of the bottom and the top to place the bird more on the left of the picture, as @jamesstaddon did.