08.18.2019 - new video just in - three peacocks visiting Golf Creek, 9th Avenue N and Farragut Drive.
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| Peacock Crossing sign on Park Street. |
You have probably seen the Peacock Crossing sign on Park Street while on your way to the Jungle Prada Tavern. Occasionally the birds will try to cross Park Street especially in the spring during mating season.
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| Peacock on Path at Jungle Prada. (photo discoverfloridatours.com) |
In 1953, the Rothman family (who started Kane's Furniture) received a package in the mail at their home on Park Street near the Jungle Prada Site. The package contained a peacock and peahen who they named Gertrude and Heathcliff after the seagull characters on The Red Skelton Show. Over the years, the family (technically, the muster of peafowl) has grown to around fifty. Sadly, even with the crossing signs there are fatalities, but they are rare - only two in the past few years.
This advice from the Rothmans concerning peacocks in your yard has been passed on to me: "If you don't like them don't feed them, if you do like them, feed them and you will have new friends."
Of the fifty or so peafowl (or to be more precise: peacocks, peahens, and peachicks), about half of them live on the Sacred Lands site next to the Jungle Prada Tavern. The others are on nearby properties on the west side of Park Street. The peacocks are well-fed on a diet of bird seed, sunflower seeds, and dry dog food.
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| (photo discoverfloridatours.com) |
While I was on the Jungle Prada Site tour, I saw about a dozen of the birds, including a few peachicks. For tour information visit the tour’s website. It’s an incredible tour of our neighborhood’s history.
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| Neighborhood logo with peacock |
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| Gertrude and Heathcliff's final resting place at Sacred Lands. |
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| Peachicks (discoverfloridatours.com) |
