There has been a dearth of raptors about. "My" cemetery hawk, not seen in months.

"My" Pearson's Mill hawk - same.

So few American Kestrels, one or two, and too often, none. Like today.

This may be the season, for the natural reason, but I am derelict in manner, appearance, attitude, and in matters necessary to present even a mediocre blog, and really don't feel up to the research necessary in cross-referencing a half dozen and more books on the subject to provide dependable information.

So, yeah, they're all off screwing and hatching and fledgling and shit.

Except today I spotted a pair of red tails about a quarter mile away, high, about sixty yards apart, crossing an open field to a woods.

If you were with me and I pointed this out, you would tell me to roll down the windows, as it stinks in the truck because I'm full of crap.

Counting stragglers and lost strays, there are a few over 700 bird species available for viewing in our beloved country. There are about 200 here in Indiana in a given year, many for a very short time and in very spotty locales.

If you never thumbed a bird guide, never paid the least attention, you know about twenty birds by sight or song, about 10% of every species that dares to show face hereabouts.

A casual weekend with some glass and a guide or two, and you'll get to about forty, and you are ready to identify about everything you'll encounter in casual observation. As important you'll immediately know what you don't know, which saves oodles of time, should you find yourself interested in just what the hell you're looking at.

The First Rule of Identification, according to me, is, If it's not supposed to be here, it probably isn't.

Don't buy a Western Field Guide unless you are heading that way.

Petersen Guides are Biblical in the bird lover's library, a Rosetta Stone to put a name on a tiny bundle of feathers.

I don't own one. I have over 20 guides to birds (yeah, you're right, I've never actually read any of them), but none are Petersen's. Because the "range" maps, where the birds most always are, are in a different section from the identifications - descriptions, pictures, habits, etc. Which is in direct conflict with the First Rule: all those things may seem apropos, but if it ain't supposed to be here, it probably ain't here.

You can be an expert just by watching the birds you know a little bit. The term "birding" is in vogue, but I reject it. To me, it smacks of "tallying", adding a bird to your "list" and moving on.

Because if you watch birds, like the magnificent red tail hawk, you will know that the only other bird of this size you will encounter regularly is the turkey vulture, and, as noted here previously, these birds soar and glide, moving literally miles through the air without so much as a wing flap. Majestic, stunning, captivating.

Buteos, including red tail hawks, have a distinctive, tell-tale, flap-flap-flap glide flight, and the second time you see it you will know it for life.

Unless you are a hideously slow study, which begs the question Why are you reading this stuff, anyway?

Not convinced to take another look?

Find some swifts or swallows. Doesn't matter which. If you want to know which, one has a forked tail.

These tiny rocket ships will reset your appreciation for amazing. They fly at blazing speeds through the most crowded yards, often seeming to scorch the grass, and make turns, swoops, dives, and vertical ascents that would render one unconscious at the very onset, if on-board.

Here's a fun part: see if you can spot that fork tail.

Good luck and much sheer joy!