neat image and selective noise reduction?

Is it possible to use neat image to apply noise reduction just on part of a photo?
ive got a picture of a bird and the background contains quite a lot of noise that i would like to remove but leave the bird alone as this softens the feathers too much!
i tried selecting the background but it still applied n/reduction to the bird as well, how do i use noise reduction on just the background??

You can do that if you are using a software that supports layer masks. PhotoShop can use layer masks and some versions of PhotoShop Elements can use layer masks if you install the action that Earthbound Light and others have created.

Basically, you make a duplication layer and apply the noise reduction to that layer. You add the layer mask, which lets you apply the noise reduction selectively.

What editing software are you using?

thanks mike cs2 here, excellent just tried it works a treat many thanks

Glad to hear it worked well for you. I just learned about the versatility of the layer mask about a month ago and have been using it regularly. I use Photoshop Elements 3 and didn't even realized I had installed the layer mask action until I started reading about their use.

Michael