Peacocks Colorful Part of the Wild

Re: “Pheasants in Residence,” July 14.

My husband and I just bought our second home in the Santa Susana Knolls. Both are popular peacock hangouts.

We love having the pheasants in residence. Our cats, dogs and horses seem to also enjoy them, not to mention visiting friends and relatives.

I have yet to meet a resident who wants to “shoot” them, although unfortunately two males were hit by cars this spring. In fact, many residents go out of their way to get the peacocks to sound off by honking car horns, whistling or ringing bells (sorry, Ms. Birnie).

The two months out of the year that they perform their offbeat symphony is a small price (many of us feel, a privilege) to pay for virtually no crime, clean air, killer views, coyotes howling at dusk, turkey vultures soaring in the sky and, yes, the magical sight of a peacock strutting past your driveway with his tail features spread acting as though he owned the place.

The Santa Susana Knolls are like the shoreline where suburbia meets wilderness, making the peacocks shorebirds. If you don’t like the wilderness, don’t live along the shoreline.

FRANCES KELLY EMANUEL

Santa Susana Knolls