Ideally you want to use a high shutter speed to capture the motion without blurring - while at the same time using a small aperture to give a greater depth of field and more chance of getting the bird in focus.
These two requirements are generally mutually exclusive, as cameras will compensate for a high shutter speed by opening the aperture to ensure enough light gets in for correct exposure - and vice versa, slow the shutter speed down when you close down the aperture.
If the day is bright enough and you have a good SLR camera with full manual control, you might be able to set these independently and override the camera controls, but you'll likely end up with an underexposed photo.
It needs a bit of experimentation - generally I'd go for a faster shutter speed to capture the moving bird, but that requires good timing and a really fast focus (or manual focus and a good judge of distance) to get the bird at the right spot at the right time.
Being in the right position also helps, a bird flying from one side to another might seem more difficult to capture as you might have to pan with it - but it still might be easier then trying to capture a bird moving towards or away from you where the focus distance changes.
Choosing the right lens is also important - unless you are going manual focus, you need a really fast autofocus, and remember that the longer your zoom, the more steady you need to be with your shooting (or use a higher shutter speed to compensate). You can always try a shorter zoom with a higher resolution camera so you can then crop the photo and still have good resolution.
Every time I go to our local zoo (Taronga) I like going to the free-flight bird show to practice taking shots of birds in flight. I'm still learning and trying different settings - would be interested to hear what other people find works well for them.
Ironically, one of my best in-flight bird shots was taken with a cheap Pentax SLR (MZ-50), with an even cheaper Sigma lens on it - although I put the photo down to luck more than anything.
Every time I go to our local zoo (Taronga) I like going to the free-flight bird show to practice taking shots of birds in flight. I'm still learning and trying different settings - would be interested to hear what other people find works well for them.
I've been lucky to see these huge birds in the wild, on the Island that this one is (presumably) named after. This photo is a really excellent shot of their nature.
