Nice shot. The only thing it misses are catchlights in the eyes. When you don't have them, the eyes look sort of dead or vacant. You may not have been able to get them here, as it is a matter of the angle of the light to the animals face, and you weren't in control of the bird. Also, a less busy background would have been a minor improvement. Same argument 'tho. Can't help you with the slide scanner, as I have rarely used one.