Hello! Forgetting something?

The chickadees returned a few days ago.  Four of them appeared.  One of them danced around in the specific place where the feeder was hung last year, and then stared firmly through the window at us before a big swoop in front of the glass and departure.  It couldn't have been a clearer message without throat clearing.  Excuse me!  Time for the feeder!It's kind of amazing, they understand that the food has to do with us, in the window.  That's a big cognitive leap for a brain the size of a pea, that's already full of nest engineering, seed extraction techniques, vocalizing, and maps.I obeyed, and hung the feeder, full of the seeds I grew, but they didn't come back.  They'd probably gone directly to the next stop, where someone was more prompt about putting out the winter seeds.Until today!  A squad of chickadees at least 8 deep (they're hard to count), arrived all at once.  I didn't know that chickadees were so "flocky" either.  I thought they were more independent.They're back!!It's nice to see a chickadee that was around all last winter, still alive and returned.   Maybe with some offspring, teaching them where the winter hunting grounds are. We don't see very much of them through the summer.