Exotic bird makes nest at Surrey man’s front door

For the past couple of weeks, Jerry Barr has had to enter and leave his Surrey home through the garage.

That’s because a bird nest sits just centimetres from his front door and is being closely guarded by an enterprising peahen.

“I don’t know what’s in her to put the eggs right there, but it’s definitely different,” he said. “I’ve never heard of anything like this.”

Such encounters aren’t too unusual in the Sullivan Heights neighbourood, where the colourful birds are a part of daily life.

“They jump on people’s cars. They’re on people’s roofs,” one resident said.

So how exactly did peacocks become a staple in this Surrey community?

After all, peacocks aren’t native to the region.

Residents say the birds were brought into the area back in the early 2000s when it was just farmland.

The farms were eventually sold to developers and the peacocks were left to fend for themselves.

“They’re not a wild animal, but they are a feral domestic animal that would typically be on a hobby farm and they decided to take up residence in this neighbourhood,” Sara Dubois of the BC SPCA said.

The peacocks certainly bring a little colour to the area, but they aren’t always the best neighbours.

Barr notes that the birds sometimes see their reflection in dark-coloured cars and start pecking away, which can lead to “a little bit of property damage and insurance issues.”

Still, the Barrs vow to protect the peahen and her offspring from predators.

“She decided to put her precious gift on my front doorstep and I never thought for a second to even touch it, and just give her the space that she wants,” Barr said.

— With files from John Hua