Mike McCormick – Nature Along the El Camino Real

by Carolyn Henderson

The bi-annual trip of the El Camino Real chapter – Texas Master Naturalist to the Purple Martin conservation project of Mike McCormick was both awe inspiring and amusing. McCormick had hundreds of Purple Martins making his place home for the nesting season while a notable number of dumped roosters were fighting it out on the ground.

McCormick, who started the Purple Martin conservation project at his place south of Buckholts at least 40 years ago, estimated somewhere between 800 to 1,000 Martins in residence this year. It is nearly triple what has come around for the last two years. He attributes it to milder weather so far this year.

He has a few hundred Purple Martin houses set up. They are particular about their “homes.” They like them to be a certain level above the ground away from trees and buildings. They need a pond or stream in the near vicinity. They also do their hunting of insects at a high altitude, although they have been known to hunt over ponds and even on the ground if the weather is bad.

McCormick will walk around under the many houses to get them to come out then the sky looks like it’s covered in Martins. Many are pairing off. Once the babies are hatched, they take about a month before they leave the nest. By early fall, these Martins have flown to Austin, where thousands meet up to then fly to Brazil or other points south for the winter.

Purple Martins’ primary natural competitors are European Starlings, which are invasive to the USA, and sparrows, many of them also invasive. They take over their houses. McCormick has styled a large cage to catch those competitors in and remove them. Human expansion is also a problem for martins wanting to nest in natural spots.

*The resident Barn Swallows build their own nests. These are hungry babies!*

McCormick and his sister have added a nature trail on the site to let visitors see the natural habitat there. They also have created a sort of refuge for other native bids and those ever-invasive non-natives. They use a small corral that used to be used for training horses. They have a birdbath, several feeding sites, and a few bird houses.

*Repurposed trah-bin lid makes a great birdbath.*

He puts birdseed on the tops of all the fence posts, which brings Cardinals, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Brown-headed Cowbirds, and and few other species to the little refuge.

*Male eats while female Cardinal darts away.*

The piece de resistance is new bathroom facilities with running water and full plumbing.

*Visits are more pleasant with these available!*

To top it all off, they had at least 15 (my sort-of count) roosters dumped on their place. I’m used to dogs and cats being dumped – but not roosters. They were in a fighting mood while we were there.

It’s worth a trip to see all the sites and have McCormick impart much knowledge about Purple Martins.

by Carolyn Henderson

Mike McCormick, considered the largest houser of Purple Martins in the area, shared his wealth of knowledge with the El Camino Real chapter of Texas Master Naturalist on Saturday, June 18. McCormick lives south of Buckholts in Milam County with thousands of Purple Martins and a few family members. He has been housing the birds for more than 40 years and has grown the number of seasonal residents steadily every year.

Purple martin house with adults waiting for fledglings to fly

There are approximately 65 Purple Martin houses at his place – all made by him. He’s also helped many others get started with some extra houses.

Up close of the three fledglings that haven’t decided to fly, yet.

ECRTMN visited at the optimum time. All the babies are starting to fledge. Members learned how to house them and keep them coming back. McCormick also clarified some untrue facts about the migrating birds. For example, a 6-foot-tall martin house works as well as a 12-foot-tall house.