Cape Canaveral Peacocks

Beautiful peacock hanging out in front of the Ocean Oaks Condos

Anyone living in the gated community of Ocean Woods and nearby Harbor Heights and Ocean Oaks Condos are familiar with the beautiful peafowl (peacocks) that roam around.  Peafowl are a beautiful attraction to the neighborhood and are excellent for insect control. They also eat plants and can live very well foraging for food on their own in the wild.

My wife Nikki and I used to live in Ocean Woods and know first hand how beautiful they are to watch. On the other hand, they can be noisy and leave a mess on the porches.

According to locals, the Eberwein family lived between Port Canaveral and what is now the Villages of Seaport. In fact a street is actually named after them (Eberwein Drive) at the northern edge of Cape Canaveral. They had the peafowl among many farm animals.  The family moved in 1986 and abandoned the peafowls.

Over the years the peafowl have slowly populated our community with the greatest concentration being north of Central Ave.

Peafowl are native to India, Burma, Java, Ceylon, Malaya and Congo. The males are called peacocks, the females are called peahens and the offspring under a year old are called peachicks.

Peafowl are considered domesticated livestock and not wildlife by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Therefore, they are not protected by any wildlife laws.

– City of Cape Canaveral