SAN ANTONIO -- There’s a new push to protect a popular flock of peafowl well-known to neighbors in the Dreamhill Estates subdivision.
- Birds roam San Antonio neighborhood
- Group of residents seek to protect birds
- Some unhappy with their presence
"They have no place to go. This is their home,” said resident Johnny Ray Campos.
Campos said there are some people in this Northwest Side San Antonio neighborhood who are unhappy with the wild birds which have roamed free in the area for several decades.
"There was a person in the neighborhood that didn't want them anymore," said Campos.
The story of how the colorful creatures began to rule the roost is one which has been shared since the late 1960s according to Campos.
"Some family had them as pets and they kept multiplying,” he said. “When they passed away they scattered, and then they made this neighborhood what this is."
Nick Martinez, 22, grew up with the peafowl his entire life. As a boy he even named some of his fine feathered friends.
"I remember there was one missing the foot. We called him Pegleg for the longest time. But then he disappeared and never came back,” said Martinez.
Jessica Reid is newest in the neighborhood, moving into the same area the peafowl have called home longer than she has been alive. So far, she's on the same flight path as her new neighbors
"It's a new aspect of this neighborhood that this neighborhood has had, going on 60 years now," she said Jessica Reid.
Since not all residents flock together, Johnny Ray and others plan will head to City Hall the second time in six months. He said he has a signed petition with dozens of signatures of people like him, who want protections for his fine feathered friends.