What makes a wildlife photo stand out?

A good wildlife photo should be tack sharp throughout the animal, so blurred tails, wings, antennae are a no-no. It should not have been sharpened excessively in post as that will lead to halos & other artefacts.

The background should be blurred enough to provide a pleasing backdrop to the subject, without distracting from it.

The subject should preferably be engaged in some form of natural behaviour (feeding, fighting, nest building, etc) which gives the image more dynamism, rather than just sitting/standing there.

The above are what photographic judges look for in 'nature' shots.

Now to yours;

I would pick the moth drinking sugar water - ok the whole insect isn't in & the contrast isn't great (could be improved by tweaking levels) but the insect is doing something interesting, and the close-up view allows us to see something we would ordinarily miss.

I would also pick the sparrow in the cedar tree 0 the focus is quite good - you've just about got it's tail in - the only annoying thing is that branch in front. If you are skilled with the clone stamp tool in Photoshop that could be taken out. Perchin' sparrow is another possibility to enter, but the b/g is a bit distracting.

For the third choice - the pink rose is nicely exposed & composed, but its just not sharp enough. If you can sharpen it gently without it looking too sharpened (if you get my drift!), then it would be a good choice. The first of your toad shots is a possibility too - they are not great as there is a lot of the animal missing, but the first is better as it's got less overexposed highlights & the scenery is not quite so distracting.

A good photo will tell a story and will have the wow! factor. I find your depth of focus questionable, exposure hit or miss and the overall composition poor. For example, What a nice day.. the leaf is washed of all detail and detracts from your subject. Hey, you!! the background over exposed, the foreground under exposed and lacking definition and sharpness. Pink Rose, the centre is sharp but the bulk of the flower lacks sharpness and detail. The errors seem fairly common with your shots

I like the composition of Orange sunset.. but again, it lacks sharpness in the foreground. Overall your biggest challenge is to get the depth of field and sharpness sorted. The rest will follow.

I would concur with deep blue with one caveat, the nature contests that I have entered require "no hand of man" which means nothing domesticated or cultivated, which would make the rose ineligible. I would advise you to check the rules.

I actually like the 'Bird's Belly" one http://www.flickr.com/photos/66188877@N03/65903191...

Why isn't this in the set?

Every picture tells a story... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxYu0IU9gdg

If your photos don't speak to you chances are they will not speak to the judges.