Mike McCormick – Nature Along the El Camino Real

A Visit with Purple Martin Friends

May 22, 2026May 19, 2026 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Sue Ann Kendall

On May 16, a group of El Camino Real Texas Master Naturalist chapter members (and their friends and family) visited a hidden gem of Milam County, one of the largest collection of Purple Martin houses in the US. Chapter friend Mike McCormick and his family have been growing the colony of Purple Martins (members of the swallow family) for many, many years.

They now have around 800 breeding pair, who each produce multiple babies each year (ideally).

The group enjoyed a talk by Mike as he updated us on improvements and changes since our last visit and answered questions about martin behavior and habits. The birds come here in mid-February to nest, then take off in the autumn to return to their winter homes in Brazil. While they’re here, they eat many insects, for which we can all be grateful.

After the more formal talk, we dispersed to look more closely at the birds and the clever houses where they live, which have been refined greatly to deter snakes and other bird species from messing with them.

This is like a condo for birds. Each cell holds a breeding pair

You can see in these photos the difference between males and females. The males are solid dark purplish black, while the females have white breasts. One easy way to tell them females apart from Barn and Cliff swallows is the others don’t have any color on their breasts.

Many of us took some time to explore the relatively new nature trail the owners have added for guests to explore. It goes through a wooded area and a beautiful meadow full of wildflowers. We had many things to add to iNaturalist before we were finished.

There was so much to see and do here, and the setting was so lovely that it was hard to leave. But there’s already talk about our next visit!

Purple Martin Field Trip Fun

May 10, 2025May 9, 2025 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

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.

Mike McCormick Explains Purple Martins

June 23, 2022 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

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.