How to take pictures of Birds in Flight

As some may know, i am using a digital super zoom nikon coolpix p80 that my wife gave to me for Christmas. I used to really be into photography and moving pictures a long time ago.

For our health benefit mostly we started to walk at the park and one day i decided to bring my digital camera to see if i could capture some wildlife and landscapes.
it did not take long until i got hooked and wanted to be out there trying to catch some exotic birds at every possible moment.

I have learned the limits of my coolpix p80 pretty quick. The slow focus and processing made me cringe many times and lose many precious memories...

if there is a few tips i could give to new wildlife photographer they would be :

1. get yourself a DSLR and a good lens(if possible 200mm or more)
2. Learn to play with the aperture so you can get the bird your are aiming at in the most natural and crisp way.
3. Use your shutter priority mode to create a 3 dimensional effect without blur effect.
4. Learn to have a good eye for type of flights that the birds have and calculate distance as precisely as possible.
5. Focus on one bird at a time : )