Lake Highlands wildlife has been a hot topic lately, what with the roaming bobcats and the Dallas Morning News’ coverage of (and additional coverage of their story about) the White Rock peacocks.
Those of us at Back Talk, by the way, have been admiring the peacocks for years (see examples of past coverage here and here, or here).
But I’ll tell you honestly, based on personal experience, that the peacocks, while undeniable beauties, can also be pesky. Last year when I was looking for a house in the area, my Realtor told me about a “sort of rundown” foreclosure for sale in the White Rock Hills neighborhood. The price was amazing for a neighborhood I adore, so I went for a look. The peacocks had made a home for themselves in the yard, on the porch, and, judging by the smell of it, throughout the house. The porch was literally rotted through with peacock dung. The odor was practically unbearable — I curiously wandered through the house but another shopper (obviously more sensitive to stink) who showed up while I was there, couldn’t get past the foyer.
It was kind of funny to get a look at these seemingly flawless creatures in a different light — kind-a like when your new boyfriend belches in front of you for the first time. Eww. As noted in the aforementioned News story, they also eat garden flowers and sometimes make cacophonous noise at night — but like the gaseous boyfriend, we love ’em anyway.
