I saw the Virginia rail just outside the Enid Haupt Garden yesterday morning, (Thursday) starting at around 8:45 a.m. This was calmly walking beneath the yews in front of the east Independence Ave. entrance to the garden, then worked its way beneath the yews, west to the west gate. I watched for about 15 minutes. When I left, it was just about to enter the garden. It was by the fence in front of the west side of the Museum of African Art. The gardener claims some folks had tried to catch the bird to return it to a marsh, but that it had eluded them. He said he was happy the bird was hanging around. Howard Youth Rockville, MD hmyouth@erols.com