Hundreds of egrets nested on Chaimberlain Street in Carrollton over the summer and even though most of the birds have moved on, a dirty, foul-smelling reminder of their stay remains.
"It's been a really long, hot, terrible, nightmarish of a summer," Chaimberlain Street resident Jeff Foster said.
Another resident had a similar way of describing what it's like living so closely with the egrets.
"Imagine living in a bird cage for six months, in 100 degree heat, with little or no rain. That's what we lived through," Chaimberlain Street resident Scott Baughn said.
The City of Carrollton said there was not a lot they could do while the unwelcome egrets were nesting because they are federally protected. Carollton's Animal Services Manager, Carl Shooter, said the city's hands were tied.
"With the federal law the way it is, there is not anything we could have done differently to provide relief any sooner than what we are doing now," Shooter said.
They had to wait for the birds to finish nesting before they could clean up the streets and wednesday morning was the first day city clean up crews made it down to Chaimberlain street.
"If you would have come out here at the height of the situation, when it stunk so bad, you couldn't breath. There were so many birds. Literally, you had to walk around here with an umbrella, just to give you an idea of how much the poo rained down," Baughn said.
The city will take care of all the streets and sidewalks, but it's up to the residents to clean their mailboxes and lawns.
"It's a hundred days too late. Should have been done in early May," Foster said.
The emotions on Chaimberlain street are mixed, but everyone is glad the birds and stinky mess were cleaned up.
The City of Carrollton will host a workshop in November to educate residents on how to keep migratory birds from nesting in their trees next year.
