This owl was deep in a field more than 100 yards away and photo was taken from the road. The owl appears as a spot in the full frame image. I mention that to show how really good optics with enough reach, a steady base like a tripod with gear tightened down and LiveView focusing zoomed in, is essential for such far away subjects - to get it into as sharp a focus as is possible. I also use a remote release. You need a tripod to do LiveView anyways.