[EBB Sightings] Our Chickadees and more

In response to my report of a returning Chickadee to our seed feeder, Phil 
Gordon has suggested that the bird we saw was an adult.  The plumage would 
have a bedraggled appearance, presumably from the entering and leaving 
through the hole of the bird house so many times.

Today we did see an adult in our patio, as well as three fledglings.  The 
young all had yellow gapes, all begged and forced the present adult to bring 
them seeds or peanut chips to their open beaks.  It would seem Phil is 
correct in his assessment, the young did not go to the seed feeder on their 
own.  Thanks, Phil.

Unfortunately, one of the chicks is not right.  It has a huge lump on the 
back of its neck making it look something like a bison.  This lump is 
feathered, but is almost as big as the head itself.  The chick flew, begged, 
shook its wings and otherwise acted like the others.  I noticed that when it 
was turned towards me, the lump also pushed its head over to the right a 
bit.  While this chick may not survive, we were still very excited to see 
the family in our patio this morning.

Hugh B. Harvey