A Central Lubbock business owner has discovered that her biggest obstacle to running a salon isn’t rent, staffing, or inflation—it’s thousands of grackles using the sidewalk as a communal restroom. Holli Baker, owner of The Socialite Salon, says the birds have been coating the area near University Avenue in droppings, creating a mess that’s equal parts health concern and public humiliation for her clients.
According to Baker, this isn’t some new avian uprising. The problem shows up every year from October through April, like clockwork. Last winter was especially bad, nothing changed, and now it’s happening again. City crews clean it up, the birds immediately undo their work, and everyone pretends this is a shocking new development. It’s basically Groundhog Day, but with poop.
Texas Tech students walking through the area were quick to confirm what no one needed confirmed: getting pooped on sucks. It smells, it’s gross, and it ruins your walk to class. Hard-hitting campus analysis, but accurate.
Baker says she’s gone full amateur ornithologist trying to understand why the birds keep coming back, eventually landing on the radical conclusion that birds… return to the same roosting spots. Armed with this knowledge and a TikTok algorithm, she grew increasingly concerned about potential health risks from the droppings and decided to escalate—emails to the city, social posts, and a petition.
The City of Lubbock responded with a statement promising both short-term and long-term solutions to this “natural, but unsightly” issue, assuring residents they are “actively working” on it. Which, in city-government language, means meetings are happening and no one should expect miracles before graduation—or migration season ends.
Baker says she’d really prefer to focus on hair, not hazard avoidance. A reasonable request, honestly.
At this point, Central Lubbock may want to stop calling it a bird problem and start calling it a seasonal feature. Or maybe just issue ponchos.