Chickadee family feeding in the yard
Topic: birds
This afternoon I heard the familiar cheeping of begging chickadees, but it was not coming from the birdhouse.  There were at least five, maybe six, chickadees flitting about in the thick brush.  They moved so fast, there may be four young, but there are certainly three.  One of the adults is the most bedraggled live bird I have ever seen.  I hope those youngsters learn how to feed themselves pretty soon.  But they are beyond cute, as one landed on a branch a foot away from my face, stared at me, cocked its head and said "cheep".  Cute, and also strangely intuitive.