I took my A1II and 300GM+2XTC to shoot ospreys this afternoon. I was looking the snake about 6' from me when an osprey dove down about 30' from me, which was very close by my standard. I swung the camera around to get some shots, more than half of the shots didn't focus on the bird's eye. I would think, with the AI chip and close distance, the A1II shouldn't have problem focusing on the eye. I was disappointed because it's rare for me to shoot an osprey this close.
These are misfocused images, uncropped, only adjustments are exposure and shadow.