The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note of any observations you have made of the world around you. Insects, weather, meteorites, climate, birds and/or flowers. All are worthy additions to the bucket. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us.
Gooseville, WI
Sept. 4, 2013
tap-tap-tap...knock-knock...
tap-tap-tap-tap...knock-knock-knock...
This morning I woke up to someone on the back deck incessantly tapping on the glass patio door. No one ever comes to that door as it opens only onto the birdfeeders.
a lady Peafowl was knocking at my door
An eloquent lady stood there tapping on the glass in the early morning light. She was decked out in an iridescent green boa that wrapped around her neck shimmering with hues of blue. Her bustled gown of brown and white was topped with a wacky hat, sufficiently silly enough to attend a royal wedding.
Charlie dog, calmly watched me, watching her, watch us. She continued to tap-tap-knock-knock-knock....on the glass door. He's cool with new yardbirds knocking at the door.
She wandered about the deck for an hour or so and found a comfortable roost on the rail with a great dining view.
I've never fed a peafowl at my birdfeeders. I've never had a peafowl stop by to knock on my door and ask. So, I gave in and sprinkled a few sunflower seeds on the deck below the feeders and wished her well on her way. She gobbled them up and knocked on the glass for more.
I was curious about peafowl calls and voices. So, I found a soundboard of calls and played a few on my laptop. She was alert and listening.
BIG MISTAKE!
She listened for about 23 seconds with wing-flapping excitement and flew to the top of the house roof. Now, I've never had a peafowl on the roof before, but the sound of heavy thump-thumps was worse than scurrying squirrels in the attic.
Once there, she bellowed out great honking, chortling peahen screeches and screams. The river valley echoed her voice for more than fifteen minutes until I left to find refuge at the public library. She was gone when I got back.
Note to self and others: Never play an electronic peacock call to a new yardbird.
Update Sept. 5: I was wrong. She isn't gone. She's still here roosting on the roof, hanging out on the deck and roaming the yard. She stands and stares at me through the glass doors, knock-knocking. Yikes!
Update Sept. 6: I wake up this morning and she's on the kitchen roof staring at me through the bathroom window. Creepy. I've been shooing her off the deck all day. I'm desperately scanning the lost and found ads in the local paper. A neighbor kindly stopped by to tell me there's a peacock on my roof.
What's happening in your neck of the woods? Got peahens or peacocks knocking at your door or sitting on your roof? This bucket is now open for discussion and observations.
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