He said the overwhelming majority of the birds in downtown are great-tailed grackles.

Casey Turner, co-owner of The Raleigh at the Hippodrome, 724 Austin Ave., said on mornings when she opens the restaurant for the day and heads to the restaurant’s rooftop bar, she locks eyes with countless birds in the trees across from the building.

“It’s really creepy,” Turner said. “It’s just like a moving, black tree.”

She said the birds are not bold enough to hassle diners on the patio or the rooftop, but their presence still annoys pedestrians. She said she has seen people side-step the trees for fear of being pooped on, and while some downtown businesses use lights or other deterrents to frighten birds away, there is not a lot they can do.

“I don’t know what to do about it,” Turner said. “Everybody would need to be doing something.”

Staff members pressure wash the sidewalks around the restaurant once a week and hose off the street in between cleanings, but the cleaning does not keep up with the birds.

“We try and wash it, but it’s really something that should be done every day,” Turner said.