Zoomed to the max

This image was fully zoomed in (48x), so the mountains look so much closer than they really are. The barn/shed was as simple a design as you can get, but at least it was RED : ) Spent the whole day SE of the city again yesterday, with friends Cathy and Terry. What a slow day it was for much of the time. Took us just over 6 hours to find the first Snowy Owl - just the tiniest, distant white speck on the ground, far across a huge field. We were beginning to wonder if maybe all the Snowies had already left to fly north, so we were happy to see this one, and a second one about four hours later, perched on a distant power pole. No photo opportunities for these owls, but it felt to good to know that there were at least these two owls still in the area. We had no luck at all finding a Short-eared Owl - very different from 7th March, when we saw 8 of them, six in flight and two on the ground. In addition to the 2 Snowies, we did see 9 Great Horned Owls, though, some on nests. Weather was beautiful with some interesting clouds for part of the day, clearing much later. Some of the fields looked pretty bare, while others were still covered in snow. The "heat-wave" distortion was really bad all day long. Does anyone know if there is a way to overcome this? It makes good, clear shots impossible.