Hi Al,
I have used a 15x bino on a monopod viewing raptors over the ridge many times as well as a 20x80 Steiner on both monopod and tripod. The monopod you must hold, the tripod you don't usually, but let me tell ya, the wind destroyed most of the view on the tripod I was using ( it wasn't a cheap one either ). The monopod fared better because when I held it, the holding reduced the wind interference somewhat.
I love really magnified viewing for raptors, but in my opinion and after lots of experimentation with both monopods and tripods anything over 12x on a monopod in the conditions I am describing and usually experience, is a real pain... and the viewing has been compromised in some manner. For this reason I prefer 10x on a monopod most of the time now, because in reality the weather conditions I encounter are seldom idealic - unless you are talking about viewing on a perfectly sunny windless day, when I wish I had something around 18x to 25x on a tripod. My preference is to travel light with hardly any gear, because after several kilometres of hike (including uphill sections), I have found that less is much much more. 60mm and 30x, well, what can I say, other than I reckon it's going to be a worry on a monopod. Perhaps try using a top quality carbon fibre tripod, or using lower magnification on a monopod.
Que te lo pases bien viendo pajaros..
Wal.
