“Freebird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd is without a doubt one of my favorite songs of all time.
When I encounter a jukebox, it is the first song I typically select while compiling a playlist. Over the past two years, sightings of proverbial “free birds” roaming my childhood neighborhood in the Beards Cove section of Belfair are commonplace.
Although I have lived in Puyallup since 2007, I make an effort to visit my mom in Belfair at least twice per month. It is always fun to visit with her and return to the house I grew up in. It is home and always will be. Wildlife is abundant in her neighborhood. In early 2018, a new creature I had never seen before made an appearance. While sitting on the deck enjoying a bottle of diet Pepsi in the spring of 2018, I saw a large peacock just leisurely walking down the street close to the side of the road.
My mom immediately informed me it wasn’t the only one.
No one knows exactly for sure, but my mom and her neighbors estimate there are two to four adult peacocks who reside in the area.
One of my hobbies is jogging the streets of Beards Cove on my visits to Belfair. I have jogged past peacocks who were just chilling on the side of the road on multiple occasions. It always catches me off guard! They don’t seem to be afraid of people in the least bit.
Most neighborhoods have neighborhood cats. My mom’s neighborhood has neighborhood peacocks. These creatures are absolutely fascinating to me. They squawk constantly during the late spring and early summer months at the crack of dawn. I discovered during a quick Google search this is due to their mating season. During the daylight hours, it is not uncommon to see these creatures roaming through people’s yards, hanging out on the top of roofs or flying from one tree to the next.
Over the past couple of years, I have captured numerous photos and videos of them. I’m sure everyone in the neighborhood doesn’t enjoy seeing the peacocks on a daily basis but I’m not one of them. I have no idea who owns these peacocks or brought them to the area. However, I do know they are indeed beautiful creatures!
