Here's a trick with a point & shoot camera - use it like a spotting scope. Do you see a deer on the far hillside but just can't make out the size of the antlers? Zoom the camera in to it's max, rest it on something to get as steady as possible and take the shot. Switch it to play back your photos and enlarge it on the screen. You'll be able to pull it in real close. The quality of the photo will be crap but you can see enough detail to know what's what.
