Here was the most accommodating eagle sighted at the festival. It was nice of it to walk right in front of the scopes so people were sure to see it up close. With a bird that size, there is no doubt that it is female.

One of the best parts of a bird festival are the people you meet. I almost always discover that I'm talking to someone who I have either admired their photography or writing. Other times you may meet someone that has several of the same friends or just has an interesting life. When a festival is wrapping up, people who had booths, or were speakers, organizers or helped keep traffic flowing usually congregate to a local public house for a beer and good conversation. When we were finished in Connecticut we headed to a cozy tavern in the Griswold Inn. I ran into Jim Zipp again (did I mention on top of taking tons of bird photos he runs a bird store in his spare time--where does he get his energy?) and I met a friend of his named Jerry Connelly who runs The Audubon Shop (pictured with me on his lap, below).

Jerry is a character, he's a musician who runs a bird store--and has a very easy going wife. She didn't seem to mind a bit when I sat in his lap for a photo. Jerry has had a store since 1986 and didn't know much about birds when he started, but through running the store has become hooked. He said I needed to put his photo in my blog, which made me think he must not have read some of the July and November 2005 entries and saw the embarrassing karaoke...be careful what you wish for my friend, or you could end up in photos like these. If you're ever in Connecticut be sure to look up the stores for Jim and Jerry. Something interesting about these bird stores is that both carry a variety of binoculars--not something you see in many bird stores.