Panasonic is coming out with a new ultrazoom P&S, the FZ35. It will still offer 18x optical zoom and Leica lens but it will up the megapixels from 10 to 12.1 (good for birders) and is even improving on its image stabilization which I thought was pretty good to begin with. The big change will be in its movie capability but since I don't use that on my current camera maybe someone can look at the product description on Amazon and assess if they can see a bird photography plus in the movie making capability. There's ultra high speed auto focus for action, too.
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMC-FZ35-Digital-Optical-Stabilized/dp/B002IKLJU0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1248790710&sr=8-3
It's not available yet but it can be pre-ordered.
