holy hell the next three photographs are 300 times better than the last ones !!! where were these ?! how come you didnt post them before ??? cmon paul you aren't an amateur at all - you shoot better than many good people I've met !
right, now B&W for the sparrow look okay to me, however, I have a darn feeling now that the texture on its body was more prominent in color. the B&W needs a bit more light and contrast, which I'll do for you.
the pigeon is a great one. its like a nostalgic photograph to me - when I was a very little kid, I used to go around shooting everything around my house, including these birds, with my small kodak film camera to learn photography ! really beautiful !
third is good again, barring the fact that the ship in the foreground has mixed uniformly into the silhouette. shall fix that one up for you too. remember to get the full mast the next time (some got cropped out from the top)... and straighten your photograph unless you want to make an intentional dramatic angle.
the fourth one is perhaps the best of the lot. tell me, where did you shoot these - the very first one and the last one of your post ? were they somewhere in coastal Spain ? the architecture looks like that. really beautiful. you've been damn lucky to have been to these places ! I would have a subject on the long block on the left of the last photograph.. a bird may be, or a lady leaning on it (careful she doesnt fall over !). if not these, then just a flower or a cup of coffee
wonderful shots ! very well done !