WASHINGTON D.C. – Officials report that a mysterious ‘slow-moving blob’ was detected in the skies above the nation’s capital, Tuesday.

Officials responded quickly, but in a way that left a lot to be desired where communication is concerned. 

CNN reports that officials still aren’t sure what the object was. Though they've ruled out the possibility of it being an aircraft, they do believe it may have been a flock of birds or an ‘atmospheric anomaly.’

In any case, after the blob was detected at about 8:27 a.m. Tuesday, the White House and Capitol Building were placed on lockdown for about 45 minutes.

U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman, Eva Malecki said, "access to Capitol Complex buildings was restricted for a short time" out of an "abundance of caution" and that the situation was cleared about 45 minutes after the report of a possible aircraft in restricted space.

The lockdown was lifted shortly after officials confirmed, via a pilot, that there did not appear to be any aircraft in the vicinity that posed an immediate threat.

Some believe the entire incident revealed a surprising lack of communication within D.C. officials during emergency situations.

A Capitol staffer who was monitoring developments during the lockdown said lawmakers and staff were pretty much kept in the dark as to what was happening, which led to confusion and concern during the entire incident.

The staffer said, “Officers had no information, and there was zero communication to members of the Capitol Hill community as the situation was unfolding.

This was a massive failure of communication to inbound congressional staff from the SAA and USCP, in a situation that was being dealt with as a very credible threat.”

CNN says Capitol Police seemed to feel similarly as, after the episode, they sent a text to individuals working on Capitol Hill, acknowledging that communication needed to be improved.