Here are some of my latest attempts. I' having trouble getting everything in sharp focus. Is this because I am hand holding or could it be because of my shorter lense(18-135)? Any tips!?:thumbsup:

When you stated "everything in sharp focus", what is it that you feel is wrong? On the first two, the eyes seem sharp, and that is certainly important. If you need more DOF on the subjects themselves, try stopping the lens down a little. If you mean the background (the whole of the birds seems to be in focus), it is usually desirable to have the "blur".

The only thing I see is perhaps moving the subjects off center.

The subjects in these images have enough sharp focus to my eyes.