Ruffled Feathers: Invasive Peacocks Cause Stir in Los Angeles Suburbs

It's no easy job. Skeptical neighbors have called the cops on Gonzalez, accusing him of trying to harm the birds. Others thank him for restoring peace to the community. Each city has their quirks, but he's picked up some interesting peacock facts along the way.

Peacocks are bougie birds. They prefer to fan their feathers in high-income neighborhoods with well-kept lawns and glistening pools. Just by eyeing the front of a home, Gonzalez says, he can tell which ones will attract the birds. In South Pasadena alone, Gonzalez trapped 80 out of 102 peacocks from one home. When he was done with that city, only one of the birds remained.

Sparking a heated debate in the suburbs, some residents admire the birds for their colorful feathers, while others see them as a nuisance. Gonzalez, a 29-year-old avian enthusiast and former falcon master at entertainment arena Medieval Times, sits at the center of this dispute in South Pasadena and four other cities as he carries out county approved Peafowl Management Plans, trapping the large birds in 10-by-10-foot cages and transporting them to undisclosed locations.

Jonathon Gonzalez, the peafowl trapper. (Photo by Shei Marcelline)

Where did all the trapped peacocks go? Gonzalez won't tell, and neither will the cities that hire him. It's an LA mystery that this documentary aims to uncover.

Where the peacocks came from is easier to track down. Back in 1875, Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin, the owner of what would become the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Gardens, imported peafowl from India, adding a dramatic touch to his landscape located in Arcadia. The initial peacock population count is lost to history, but over time, the birds flourished on the property, drawing in locals and tourists when the site opened to the public in 1956.

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In the ensuing decades, the peafowl of L.A. multiplied beyond measure, making it nearly impossible to keep track of them. Gonzalez says the population spike can be credited to the COVID-19 lockdown. Reduced car traffic and increased indoor activities kept people closer to home, allowing the peafowl free range to take over the suburbs. Today, these majestic birds continue to confidently roam beyond the Arboretum's grounds, wreaking havoc—or adding charm—to the residential neighborhoods of Arcadia and beyond.

Some neighbors, captivated by the beauty of the peafowl, assert the suburbs belong to the birds just as much as they do to the humans. Long-time Chapman Woods resident, Maria Gunnell, spends $300 a month on bird feed for the peafowl. She spreads the feed daily on her driveway, ensuring the birds stick around—even though she’s already had to replace her dining room window twice because of them. Other neighbors are fed up. South Pasadena resident, Su Kim, knew something had to be done at her home after the peafowl staged a backyard takeover last year. Kim eagerly volunteered to host a trap after her 3-year-old unknowingly put peafowl feces in his mouth. The ongoing debate over whether peafowl are a nuisance in neighborhoods has residents, like Gunnell and Kim, choosing different strategies to address the challenges posed by the birds.

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Peafowl are notorious for loud cries heard more frequently during peafowl mating season, which begins in March and carries into the summertime. Male peafowl, or peacocks, become increasingly aggressive during this time, often confusing their own reflections for other peacocks squaring up for a fight. For people this means broken windows and scratched up cars.

For Gonzalez, this means it’s time to trap.