My first Big Sit

There was a lot of standing at our Big Sit

I joined the State College Bird Club's fourth annual Big Sit out at Bald Eagle State Park this morning; it's my first Big Sit ever, and I really enjoyed it. The leaves are at their peak right now:

I got a few pictures; our one warbler species was the oh-so-common butter-butt:


Yellow-rumped Warblers were abundant, flitting about all morning until about 11.

From the time I got there until about a half-hour before I left, this Great Blue Heron was practically sitting in our circle.

"I sometimes like to come out here and ponder the mysteries of life."

Here he is, trying to swallow a good-sized sunfish:

GULP!

This immature Bald Eagle flew right over our heads, maybe fifty feet up at most, but I didn't get my camera on him until he was almost gone.

A Greater Yellowlegs dropped by:He stuck around for a couple of hours.

This Common Loon began calling to some other loons around the bend at the marina:He stayed under water for almost a minute at one point.

I met AB out at Fisherman's Paradise for a nice little walk along the creek; check out these Woolly Bear caterpillars:
Does the wide cinnamon-colored band mean a harsh winter?

We also saw this little love scene:I had googled red dragonfly and found some great info; I wrote the following: "Is this a Ruddy Darter or a Common Darter? I checked this web site for following information. The size and coloring seem to match Ruddy, but they're far more rare than the Common. The Common is supposed to have 'light patches on the thorax,' which this one lacks; it's also more orange than the Ruddy. This specimen is more red, not orange--at least in my opinion. I can't tell for certain if the legs are black (Common) or red (Ruddy), or whether it has a 'waist' like the Ruddy. I only got this one slightly blurry shot before they took off. Looking at the female, it's also hard to tell. Female Ruddies are 'greeny-brown' while the Commons are 'yellowish-brown.'" Then it occurred to me to check the range. Dangit, both of these species are found in the UK and Europe!

Hmph.

So -- Autumn Meadowhawk? Help, John!