Full frame or include scenery for animal subjects?

[BagOfWalnuts]

Alright so I shoot mostly animals, and have been trying to figure out when I share my photos should I be downsizing the originals and keeping all the scenery in, or just cropping it so you just see the subject. So for example, this is a juvenile cooper's hawk. The first photo I cropped so just the bird is in it, and in the 2nd I left the scenery in. Are there any general rules of thumb one usually follows for working with these things? Does it depend if I'd be printing & framing them, etc? For reference, the bottom one with the scenery is downsized by 50%

 

[corkyg]

I prefer to concentrate on the animals It does depend on what you are trying to convey in the photo - what are you illustrating?

 

[BagOfWalnuts]

more the bird in this case, it's not usually seen in the area we found it in

 

[Gooberlx2]

Yeah, in this case, I say crop in. The scenery is just distracting and doesn't look like it was composed to intentionally be a part of the shot.

In other instances, scenery makes sense as a setting, framing or context.
Here's a pic I took quite some time ago.

 

[sixone]

I read an article recently that advised not to crop too tight to the bird or animal, in most cases. Apparently, tight crops remind people of cages and makes them uncomfortable.

You might try cropping with the bird just left of center (rule of thirds). It might not work so well with that big branch on the right, but you get the idea.

 

[yhelothar]

I read an article recently that advised not to crop too tight to the bird or animal, in most cases. Apparently, tight crops remind people of cages and makes them uncomfortable.

You might try cropping with the bird just left of center (rule of thirds). It might not work so well with that big branch on the right, but you get the idea.

I agree with this. It'll give some space. Giving some space to the left when the bird is looking in that direction also provides a lot of depth to the photo. I find AT's own composition guide to be very good!
http://www.anandtech.com/show/1548