The thing that drew Kathy Prieto to Pemberton Lane in The Colony is now the thing that's driving her crazy.
"The trees," Prieto explained. "I love the shade. Now I regret it more than anything."
The trouble started in March. Egrets are now nesting by the dozens, in the trees in front of her home.
"It's getting louder," she said of the constant squeals and croaking sounds the birds make. "It smells worse. Our yard is getting worse."
Prieto said her kids can no longer play in the front yard because of all the bird droppings. The nesting Egrets are also protective and will sometimes swoop down at people. Visitors must park their cars down the street, she said, for fear of getting splattered with bird poop.
"I won't even walk down the sidewalk," she said.
Kathy and other neighbors have complained to the city of The Colony. On Tuesday, city council was scheduled to entertain their questions, and try to discuss possible solutions.
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Still, there's not much neighbors can do about the birds. Egrets, once they begin nesting, are protected by the 100-year-old Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
"They pretty much go where they want to go," said David Poole, a landscaper who said Egrets have nested in neighborhoods in The Colony for years. "It is nature, so they do what they're gonna do."
All Prieto can do is wait for the Egrets to leave and hope they don't come back.
"This is no way for anyone to live like this," she said. "It's horrible."
