The sandhill cranes was one of the first photos I took in action in the field. It's my favourite bird and I ran across it on a trip a few days after I bought the 100-400 Leica. But I did not know what I was doing and just had it set to aperture priority. Exif says 400mm, 1/640s, iso 3200. I have no idea which AF but maybe bif. If I had it set to shutter speed priority like now it would have probably been a great shot. Great learning moment. I'm looking forward to more.
My main dial has 3 presets, which I use for:
1) BIF
2) Non-flying
3) Precapture
For walking around, I have it set to BIF, just in case I get surprised by a bird. I figure there will be time to switch to preset 2 if I encounter a perched bird.
I use an Olympus camera, but I suspect you can get very similar settings for your Pana. And you have bird detect AI, which I don't have.
Specific settings are:
1) BIF: manual mode, 1/2000, f8, exposure compensation +0.7, 3x3 cross focus points. The reason for the exposure comp is the bird will usually be against the sky, which is brighter than the bird (unless it is a white bird).
2) Non-flying: manual mode, 1/1000, f6.3, exposure comp 0, smallest square focus point
3) Precapture: manual mode 1/2000, F10, exposure comp 0, smallest square focus point. I use fast shutter speed and narrow aperture for birds taking off or landing. The greater depth of field gives me more shots in focus.
Of course, these only work if there is enough light. Otherwise I have to quickly adjust. My back dial is set for shutter speed, my front dial is set for aperture, I use one button in conjunction with the front dial for exposure comp. I use auto ISO with upper limit of ISO6400.
