This is bird note.

Are any birds more conspicuous by their absence than swallows?

Through all of spring and summer, swallows dart and sail overhead, their airborne grace a wonder to behold.

So while October marks a lovely juncture in the change of seasons, the skies seem empty.

The swallows have flown south.

Swallows feed almost exclusively on flying insects, abundant in the warmer months,

scarcer as fall takes hold.

The Swallow's, eight species nest in the United States, must fly south for the winter to latitudes where aerial insects are to be found. So if you wanted to follow the swallows in winter, where would that journey take you?

Well, to catch up with violet green and Tree Swallows, you'd traverse much of Central America.

A search for the other six species would take you through much of South America.

Indeed, to see Cliff Swows, you'd have to strike

off as far south as Argentina. For a parting look at swallow flocks in early October, visit the sort of places they concentrate before migrating.

Check around large open fields or pastures, or wetlands like marshes or ponds for a last chance to say farewell until next March or April.