If you went physically searching for little purple birds in Austin at the Austin Community College parking lot (formerly home of Highland Mall), then you, like me, went on a wild goose chase to find less than a goose egg.

That’s the bad news, now for the good. The good news is that Austin’s martins have been spotted and in great number, now calling Round Rock’s La Frontera Village their place of roosting.

We arrived at the La Frontera Village parking lot — just south of Hobby Lobby and Sam's Club stores, their parking lots — shortly at 7:35 pm not knowing really what to expect other than our eyes peeled and on the lookout for “purple birds”, so we thought.

Commonly referred to as Purple Martins, they’re actually not purple. Yes, they are not purple. Imagine how let down my family and I were, with our hearts and eyes ready to spot purple birds, to discover that they’re actually a dark blue-black with an awesome iridescent sheen (EVEN BETTER!). 😍

Nonetheless, about the only expectation or similar experience we could possibly relate to was having seen and experience Round Rock’s other birds of the night. The Round Rock Bats are an amazing thing to witness and experience (go see them and the Austin Bats too!).

However, the purple martin experience, referred to by local avid bird watchers and enthusiasts as the purple martin party, kind of puts the bats to shame. Having witnessed both experiences with my family in tow, I couldn’t agree more that the martins put on quite a show — and without a pungent odor too. ;)

Unlike the bats that simply fly out and leave, the purple martins filled the air for nearly a good 1.5 hours with an amazing sunset as the background. Everywhere you looked and turned — in front, back and side to side — were purple martins swooping, swirling, and whirling through the evening air. And when not dazzling with an aerial show, the air is filled out soulful sounds of song and chirp from

Whether you’re in search of a clean, family-centric outing of fun for all generations, or an amazing date night with your significant other or a group of friends, you can’t go wrong with Round Rock’s purple martin watch.