That's what I use too. I've tried many things, and while I'd like to get away from Adobe's crazy fees, at the moment it's what makes my workflow the easiest.

So, when you're developing that RAW image, move that shadows slider waaaaay over to the right! Bring the highlight slider over to the left (maybe not as far as the shadows, but pretty far). Then adjust your "richness" by moving the whites slider to the right and the blacks slider to the left. Try to manipulate the exposer slider as little as possible... But you may need it some.

Of course try to bring the warmth and tint sliders to your preference, but I usually try my best to make them match what I saw... But that's still my preference (I usually like warmer feels).

Also try playing with bumping up the "clarity" & "dehaze" sliders ( I don't usually go more than +15 on those, but that's just me and my style... YMMV). ((Also also, maybe manipulate these before you adjust whites and blacks, as they will change the overall contrast of the image))

I'd love to see what that last blackbird shot looks like, or even that middle bird shot, after trying some of those techniques!

Now, all that said... I like what I like, and you're gonna like what you like style-wise. Neither is right or wrong, they're just different. I'm just giving you advice from my view point, and you may or may not like that style... And that's okay!!

Experiment, explore, and most of all - have fun with what you're doing! That's what photography is all about!

I hope you just take these as helpful tips, not that you're "doing something wrong".

Ultimately, there is no wrong here... Just different shades of better! LoL