We went out to the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland, not far from the District. It was pleasant walking around the extensive grounds, although the only birds we saw were some geese in their lake, ducks way off in the distance, and a kestrel and this Eastern screech owl in the headquarters.

People panicked when this little girl walked right up to the owl for a face-to-face meeting. I had only a fraction of a second to take this picture and it isn’t very sharp, but it was so cute I decided to post it anyway.

Eastern screech owl, posted earlier: