I have seen the kestels in good light and the colours are realistic. However, I did saturate the colours a little in Elements to simulate better light.
I know some set their camera to vivid or other saturated setting, but I prefer to do this post processing rather than in camera.
The merganser was too far away to get a decent shot, heavily cropped.
Thanks all for the comments, my wife was so upset that she didn't get to see the kestrel so close (work intervened), perhaps next time.
Graham
All these shots taken with Sony A350, 500mm reflex lens (fixed F8), distance around 25 feet (8 metres).