Removing highlights in a layer mask

[Weetobix]

I have a photo I'm converting from night to day that was taken in some woodland.
While I'm fine with adjusting the curves and temperature for the whole image, there are still a few places where the sunlight has broken through the canopy and I would like to remove them with a layer mask but I don't know how to go about this.

Any ideas?

 

[IamSam]

For this I would use a channel masking technique. Take a look at this tutorial: http://planetphotoshop.com/using-channels-to-make-better-selections-in-adobe-photoshop.html

It should help to explain the process.

 

[Weetobix]

That looks like it could be what I want - I'll have a play tonight. Thanks!