Capturing a bird in flight

I was quite surprised to see this butcher bird, a bird of the open forest, on a windy coastal headland. It might have had something to do with the recent fires, a supposedly controlled burn, that got out of control, and burnt out extensive areas of Wilson's Prom at easter. Forcing many camps to exacute. Maybe the birds are seeking alterate accomodation also.

Grey Butcher Bird, infront of Wilson's Prom

I only just captured him in flight because I had pressed the trigger button a few seconds earlier to get another closer shot. The noise enough to scare him into flight.

The delay that you find in most digital and compact/automatic cameras means it is almost impossible to capture a "snap" shot of a bird in flight. It will be well out of view before the exposure is taken. There are a few option you can try.
1) Pan and follow the bird's flight.
2) Prefocus, either manually or by half depressing the cameras triger button
3) Use your cameras multi-shot feature, if it has one.