Homeowners Seek a Peafowl Detente

Santa Susana Knolls residents met Tuesday night to work out a plan to deal with the battle raging over wild peafowls that roam the area.

The Susana Knolls Homeowners Assn. decided to establish a committee to educate residents about the peafowls, which are considered a nuisance by some and an ecological resource by others.

Paige Moser, the association president, volunteered to set up the committee and said the group will probably make door-to-door visits to inform residents how to keep the birds away.

Because some residents are at odds with one another and animal control officers over how many of the birds live in the rocky canyon around their homes, the committee also will conduct its own bird count.

Patrick Musone, an animal control education officer, counted 47 birds last week.

At animal control’s request, residents agreed to appoint one person to stay in contact with the county agency and to field complaints and disseminate information to the neighborhood.

Residents also discussed how to keep peafowls out of their yards.

Some peafowl supporters handed out a flier from the Police Department in Palos Verdes Estates, where peafowls and humans have coexisted since 1924, explaining how to keep the birds away.

The flier suggests planting foliage peafowls don’t like to eat, such as azalea, babies’ breath, fuchsia and ivy, and to avoid having open compost piles and pet food in the yard.

Residents suggested spraying the birds with water to scare them off, and stringing netting over valuable plants.