While thinking of a topic for my first blog post, I came across some unexpected visitors, and then the idea came to me…

Imagine driving up to your house and finding four peacocks hanging out on your driveway? Well, these types of things happen, when living in Miami. On my drive every morning to my daughter’s school, we encounter plenty of peacocks, they just love hanging around in the neighborhood of Coconut Grove.  My daughter also sees them on her school campus at times. Every day we secretly wish that they would stroll down to our block, they are such beautiful birds!

During a mating session…

Having said this, when I mentioned our latest visitors to my neighbor across the street, she didn’t exactly share my opinion. She mentioned that peacocks can get very loud during the evenings, making ear-piercing sounds and keeping you from a good night’s sleep (this would definitely be a problem for me). I have actually been a witness to these sounds as I regularly take morning walks through Coconut Grove, and have been quite startled at times! They can also be very “messy”. As a matter of fact, there have been many complaints about these gorgeous birds from Coconut Grove residents. Some residents love having them around, as they are a living embodiment of Coconut Grove’s identity as a bohemian neighborhood. It’s completely natural to be driving down one of the neighborhood streets and find them smack in the middle of the road, with no intentions of moving. In my opinion, this actually helps slow down traffic, and I think it’s a benefit to the safety of pedestrians and kids, in a city that already has too many drivers speeding. However, many other residents complain that aside from the noise, they peck their cars, and poop all over their pools, driveways and porches.

On a nearby neighbor’s roof…

Well, as with all debates, some residents love them and some want them gone. My daughter and I love them, and we are so glad that our wish was finally granted and that we can expect to see them from time to time…of course, no poop in our pool please…

Do you like peacocks, would you like seeing them around your neighborhood?