Newbie needs camcorder help-bad!

[xxclaro]

Hello all. I'm new here,and new to videotaping, and am desperately in need of some advice.
I'm planning on buying a camcorder in a few months, but first I have to do enough research to know what I'm talking about and can make an well informed decision. I've been researching as much as possible, but am woefully ignorant and get confused more than anything else.
At this point, all I know is I want either a hard drive or flash/hard drive cam, preferably a HiDef. I also need some zoom capabilities and decent low light performance.
I will mostly be taping wildlife, as well as some vacations and what not. I'm not too concerned with editing and all that,as it's just for me, but I want good,high quality video,sound isn't a big deal.
I often manage to get within 20 yards of the animals,and they may stick around for quite some time,so I can't be changing tapes/discs and can't have a loud camera,as I have to remain perfectly still.
All in all, I guess what I need is a fairly simple but good quality camera that can be had in the $650 range or less. I know the flash camera's are cheaper,but cards cost money,and I don't know how much they hold.
Can ya help me out, give me some pointers or suggestions? I'm driving myself crazy here!