Drama in the Front Yard

The last couple of days I've been battling a cold so I've been working from home. I got the idea to take the screen off of our front bathroom window and use it as a photo blind to get some shots of our birds. Yesterday afternoon a bird-fight broke out amongst some Starlings.

It got a little intense at one point.  Apparently they don't like to share.

Not everyone was caught up in the foray.

This guy actually looks board.

I've learned some things in the last few days while trying to capture photos of these birds.

1. Shoot in AV mode.  I usually shoot in manual mode but with AV there's far less to be concerned about.  
2. Things happen fast so use at least the minimum shutter speed matched to the focal length of the lens.
3. While photographing birds in RAW+JPEG, a 2 GB card fills up pretty fast.
4. I deleted a lot of photos from this shoot. (I think I took too many.)
5. Use manual focus instead of auto. This allows for better composition. Also the auto focus makes too much noise.
6. Speaking of noise... don't let your big curious Bullmastiff walk in behind you while in your photo blind. She can be noisy.

I'd really like to hear your suggestions!