Long focal lengths and air

Lately I’ve been doing a lot of shooting with what is effectively a 1000mm F/8 lens (Sigma 500mm F/4 Sport lens and the corresponding x2 teleconverter). As a consequence any shot that’s not very tightly on the subject is taken from a meaningful distance. This can mean that distortion from turbulence in the air can show up in the image.

A ring billed gull playing in the updraft from the FDR highway under the promenade in Carl Schurz Park.

In the case of this image, there is a strong updraft coming from the FDR highway under the promenade that I’m shooting along. This has two effects. First, it attracts gulls wanting to easily gain altitude. Second, when shooting parallel to the edge of the promenade (as I’m doing in this photo), there is substantial turbulence distorting the image.

That said, I actually like the wild, small distortions in this image, it reminds me of a watercolor. What do you think?