When I went downstairs to make the coffee this morning I stopped to say hello to Kitten Britches, who was sitting in the front window. As I did, a roundish dark form on a low-hanging maple limb in the yard caught my eye, a bird, before sunrise. Coffee was delayed as I watched it fly to the ground, then to the little linden tree, then back to the maple again. After awhile I was finally able to discern it was a little screech owl, or maybe a saw-whet. We often hear screech owls, so I’ll take him for that. I walked in the park yesterday, keeping an eye out for the return of the red-winged blackbirds but haven’t seen any yet (last year I saw them on February 13th- where are those red-winged boys?). Did see Sophie and her master this morning.