My project for course: Naturalist Watercolor with Expression and Personality

I really enjoyed this course as the steps were easy to follow and I liked the results. I find myself painting with a lot of detail and this course helped me let go of that a bit.
I traced the reference photo with tracing paper and transferred it with graphite paper. I did the monochromatic painting first, made some notes for the final painting, and also used some colored pencils to help me with the colors. I used a lot of the same colors that were used in the demonstration heron. I am not sure if I should add some darker values in the plumage. Not having a background is making it hard to see the top of the head so I may try a background later.