My question when I heard about this was not what raptor, but where around
that area would there be woodcocks...close enough that a Peregrine or other
raptor would carry the prey? The closest open fields I can think of in Rock
Creek Park near East West Highway (at least a mile away) and maybe Sligo
Creek? That is the mystery to me - not whether there are raptors in the
area, but why there are woodcocks that close to downtown Silver Spring. I'm
also wondering if it could in fact be a diurnal raptor...woodcocks migrate
at night and are  active, in terms of display behavior, in the evening...so
owl seems like a better bet.

Ellen Paul