Peacock Problems

Some residents of Penticton's Skaha Estates have cause to squawk.

A trio of peacocks has taken up residence on the property and their enthusiastic early morning calls are not going over well with the people who live in the area.

Maida Barnett lives on Devon Drive and says at first the peacocks were decent neighbours.

“They showed up sometime in November and it was fine. They were quiet, didn't cause many problems beyond the occasional droppings,” says Barnett.

But around April, the beautiful birds started making some not-so-beautiful noises.

“It's a very high pitched sound, like cats fighting and it happens on and off all night long, so they are really affecting sleep around here. I'm not sure why they are making this noise,” says Barnett.

Bonnie Jones keeps peacocks as pets in Oliver and has an idea as to why the the uncaged-birds are singing.

“It is their mating season, my guess would be these three males are trying to find mates,” says Jones.

She says her male peacocks made noises too when courting the females, but says that her neighbours aren't bothered by the cries.

Jones is in the middle of applying for a bird permit to look after orphaned birds and says she might be willing to take the three male peacocks if they can be caught.

Barnett says some of the residents of Devon Street have been working with a trapper from Naramata who has experience in trapping birds, but are running into problems regarding the bill. They have sent a petition to the Regional District of the Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS), asking them to help with the situation.

“We've spoken with the RDOS, but they say that unfortunately the bird's calls don't fall under the animal control bylaws and they therefore have no authority, so in the meantime those of us who signed the petition are having to pay for the trapper's services,” says Barnett.

She says there have been instances of the birds following people into their homes.

According to RDOS bylaw 1838, 'no birds owned by any person shall be at large.' So far, no one has been able to determine just who the birds belonged to.