Poop-encrusted Paradise

From La Jolla, California, a story that we missed back in April:

Tourists flock to the place. So do birds. Lots of birds. And with those birds comes lots of poop.

So rather than gasping in amazement at the beautiful views, some are holding their noses from the stench coming from the droppings that cake coastal rocks and outcroppings near its business district.

"We've had to relocate tables inside because when people go out to the patio, some are like 'Oh my God. I can't handle the smell,'" said Christina Collignon, a hostess at Eddie V's, a steak and seafood restaurant perched on a cliff straight up from the guano-coated rocks.

On a recent afternoon, tourists on spring break walked along the sea wall. Some scrunched up their faces in disgust.

"It smells like something dead," said Meghan Brummett as she looked at the birds with her husband and children. The family was visiting from Brawley, a farming town two hours east of San Diego.

Biologists say the odor is the smell of success: Environmental protections put in place over the past few decades have brought back endangered species.

"We're kind of a victim of our own success," said Robert Pitman, a marine biologist at the National Marine Fisheries Service in La Jolla. "We've provided a lot of bird protections so now we're getting a lot of birds. "

At least he uses the word "victim." As usual, some don't see the problem even when it's right in front of them:

"I think they are a tourist attraction and this is a tourist area so it probably wouldn't be a good idea to try to get rid of them," said Manns, a waitress who often hears complaints about the stench wafting by the seaside tables at the Goldfish Point Cafe.

An odd idea of a tourist attraction... if this is success, I say count me out.

One individual in La Jolla who doesn't hesitate to yell at the cormorants to get out of there photographed by Flickr user San Diego Shooter.