The Dallas Morning News followed the fabulous reports of vultures eating pool noodles and windshield wipers with this heart-rending bird crisis report soon to be made into a major motion picture!
Residents lament: This is for the birds
Fairview: Cattle egrets leave mess, raise respiratory fears
"Thousands of the sleek white egrets migrate from Mexico and Central America each summer to roost in the towering woodlands that back up to homes along Summer Hill Lane in Fairview. The large, gregarious birds are plentiful throughout Collin County's rural blackland prairies where exclusive homes are tucked among the native trees beloved by egrets and homeowners alike... "
This histoplasmosic woe is the sad, but true tale of a couple who just...
"... looked forward to spending the summer in their backyard swimming pool with their two children and grilling in their new outdoor kitchen. But they've had no choice but to keep their children inside. A dusting of white feathers forms a film on the water and grass. Dried bird droppings cake their yard, and a fine, white mist irritates sinuses. It looks like snow, but it smells like the bottom of a bird cage,..."
The family raised a hoot and a holler about the health threat caused by the egret rookery. They've had an epidemiologist out to visit their $700,000 home, and have hired an attorney. There's a photo of their barefoot son squatting out in the yard poking sticks at a dead baby egret. Guess his mom didn't tell hime to wear shoes when he walks on all those caked bird droppings.
It's a sad, sad story for the real estate developer as well. The cattle egrets, little blue herons, and yellow-crowned night herons nesting in the block-long rookery are protected by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Three lots slated for the development of $700,000 homes are off the market until the young birds leave the nests and new clueless buyers show up...
"'It became clear that we didn't have any option but to do the right thing, be good neighbors and wait until the egrets move on,' said Russell Rice, area president for David Weekley Homes, which owns the three lots... Mr. Rice said the law allows the trees to be cut or trimmed and the lots developed after the birds leave in the fall. He hopes the changes discourage the birds from returning in March... But in the meantime, the egrets rule the roost for at least two more months. "
Holy habitat, Batman! It's easy to do the right thing, be good neighbors, and wait, when nobody with working senses would buy the property!
And now for these memorable quotes from the 1966 Batman movie:
Robin: Holy bill of rights, Batman!
Robin: Holy haberdashery, Batman!
Robin: Holy priceless collection of Etruscan snoods!
Robin: Holy oleo! Catwoman: I didn't know you could yodel!
Batman: Let's go, Robin. We've set another youth on the road to a brighter tomorrow.
And let's all hope he's wearing shoes!
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