Settings for close up recording on new Outdoor camera

I just setup my Outdoor camera and am thrilled with results on my ipad. My first spot was to put it about 18" away from a bird feeder. The picture is good, but not great. Is that what I should expect or is there a more optimum way to set the pixil count (360p, SD, HD or Auto). I started with “Auto” and it is doing pretty good. Is there an optimum distance from the subjects e.g. is 18" too close to get good details of the birds. If I move it further back, what distance would you suggest. thanks for any replies

I had one on a bird feeder, it too was around 18" away, picture quality looks great to me