Quick Tip #1: Gulls are great for BIF practice.

Use Gulls to hone your BIF (Bird In Flight) abilities.

Herring Gull
South of Odiorne Point State Park
Rye, NH USA 09-23-17


When I'm at the coast and there are no Shorebirds or ducks to be found there are always Gulls.
Besides the antics of Gulls on the ground, Gulls are very useful for BIF practice.

This is one of many I shot recently.  I cropped in and cut off the outer sections of the wings to bring in the face better... something I don't normally do... but after all, it's just a Gull 😉.

I may have some skill in BIF's, but I practice every chance I get... because you can never practice, or learn too much.

When practicing my BIF captures, I always start with my camera in my hands, but resting on my lap.
If on the monopod, I keep only my hand in the cuff on the camera body, with the entire set up away from my body.  The reason I tell you this is that part of the BIF technique is to be able to bring the camera to your eye and place the lens on target.  This takes a LOT of practice.
When I bring up my camera, I keep my eye on the target.  As the camera comes up, I sight the bird with the lens hood knob (I shoot an EF 500mm f/4L) and the hot shoe (Flash Mount) of the body which helps get the lens on target the first time.  I still occasionally miss; if you do, don't hunt around thru the lens.  Pull the camera down just a bit until you once again see the target and sight it in again.  It will get easier the more you practice.

One other tip to pass on... when shooting a bird in the sky, especially in a clear sky, there is not a lot for the camera to focus on.
When I practice my BIF's, I always start with the lens focused on something close as I'm probably shooting a Shorebird, Warbler or something else that is close in.  If you see a bird coming at you and you raise your camera right up, you may not even see the bird because the focal setting of the lens is on the close end.  I always try to let the camera focus on points further out as it comes up, finishing with something like a stand of trees that I estimate to be around the same distance as the incoming bird.  This way my lens is focusing close to where I need it to be.
I can't begin to count the number of BIF's I have missed because I was shooting something close in and forgot to let the focus travel as I raised my camera with the adrenaline of excitement driving my movements.

I have heard Gulls called French Fry Thieves, Flying Rats and a few other things.  I like to call them practice dummies.
Anytime I speak to a new birding photog, the first assignment I suggest is that they find some Gulls.
Practice BIF's on them.... so when that beautiful adult Bald Eagle makes a close in pass by your location you're ready to rock and roll.