‘-te wa’' construction, etc.

I should note beforehand that I've asked for help elsewhere with this passage from a novel but have been told that it doesn't make sense.

A professor has recently died. He had developed an obsession with birds shortly before his death. His friends discuss the reasons behind his interest. A little girl listening mentions that she likes birds herself. One friend comments:

「彼の頭の中は、このおちびさんと同じでしたよ。大好きなもの、うわっついたもの、フワフワ夢うつつで、未知への期待にいっぱいだった。
遠くばかり眺めては、鳥の群れに立ち止まる」

(After the first discussion, we concluded that a period is probably supposed to be present after うわっついたもの and that the comma is a typo. I present the passage as originally written.)

Questions:

1) The うわっついたもの refers to the object of the professor's interest, the birds, while フワフワ夢うつつで and 未知への期待にいっぱいだった refer to the professor himself, correct?

2) Is the 眺めては here an example of the ''-te wa'' construction referring to repeated actions? As I understand it, though, in this construction, the first clause is a prerequisite for the second taking place - meaning, he would be looking always at the afar, and _then_ he would stop in the middle of flocks of birds, correct? Am I confused about this construction? It doesn't serve the purpose of a simple ''and'' conjunction, does it?

Thank you for your time once again.

(1) Yes, I'd say so.
"Inside his mind was just like this child's. Things he loves, things that are afloat - (he was) always dreamy/he had his head up in the clouds, and was always full of expectations for the unknown."

(2) Yes.
"He would (often) look afar, and stop when he spots a flock of birds."

P. S.
Sorry, "things that are afloat" are not the best of translations I admit; something like "frivolous" might be suitable.

I would say for the first sentence, I would not really worry about the precise grammar, but take it as a jumble of thoughts.

"Inside his mind was just like this child's. Things he loves, things that are frivolous (those are the things that were in his mind and) - (he was) always dreamy/he had his head up in the clouds, and was always full of expectations for the unknown."

Thank you again. Just to clarify:

1) The "daisuki na mono" and "uwatsuita mono" aren't meant to describe birds per se, but just the things in general floating around in the professor's head, right? It's a listing of how his mind was like the child's?

2) The "tachidomaru" is not a literal "standing still" in this case, then, correct? It refers to the movement of his gaze, and how it came to rest upon flocks of birds when he saw them?

Blenheim,
Of course it's my interpretation, but
1) Yes, I believe those are meant to refer to the things in general that fill up the professor's mind.
2) Umm, no, "tachidomaru" is referring to his walk, not his eyes. I think this means that "he stops in his footsteps when he sees/notices some flocks of birds (TO GAZE at them)."