Hundreds of Egrets Nest in North Texas Yard
By Jack Highberger
Published Jul 11, 2019 at 9:01 PM | Updated at 10:42 PM CDT on Jul 11, 2019
//www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Hundreds-of-Egrets-Nest-in-North-Texas-Yard_Dallas-Fort-Worth-512619242.html
It started this spring and has grown into something 87-year-old Bonnie Roberts never could have imagined. (Published Thursday, July 11, 2019)
It started this spring and has grown into something 87-year-old Bonnie Roberts never could have imagined.
"You can't sit out here, the smell is just so bad," she said.
Roberts front yard is now the home of hundreds of Egrets that began nesting while she was in the hospital recovering from hip surgery.
The bird is protected by state and federal laws that prevent the disruption of their nesting sites.
"I spend 75 percent of my time outside and now I can't even come out here," Roberts said.
Roberts yard is partially in Bedford and partially in Hurst. Both cities said they plan to engage area residents in an education campaign that they hope will prevent a future infestation. Audio and visual deterrents can typically keep the birds from nesting when implemented early enough.
But for Roberts, it's too late. Her yard is now full of living and dead birds along with excrement that falls from the trees so rapidly she has to carry an umbrella to get her mail.
"They've killed all the grass, I worked 40-years on that grass," she said.
She said she has been frustrated by local municipality's inability to assist her and even when the birds do finally leave, cleanup and removal of the nest will ultimately be an expense she has to handle.
"They've done nothing, nothing. It's very frustrating."