D90 Ospreys pp c&c

I've been trying to figure out good pp to bring my bird pictures "alive" I feel like I'm getting closer, but was wondering if any of the experts here could give me a few more pointers, like if I'm missing something obvious? I've tried so many programs, but have come down to psp x4 to convert raw files and do some sharpening, nr, fill light etc, Then photoscape for final tweaks and resizing. Thanks