We have seen photos on reddit, we have seen photos on facebook. One of my children saw it and texted me a photo. It’s the peacock of Carrboro!
Meet Tico, Carrboro’s own peacock, who currently lives at the house on West Main in Carrboro
The story of Tico begins last December, when the brightly colored bird wandered into Tim Pecks workshop, and decided to hang around a spell. Perhaps, helped by Tim getting some corn to feed the Tico.
Tim Peck is a local plumber, contractor and artisan. You may know Tim by Peck and Artisans, who built the large bike now present on the side of Open Eye cafe
After spending a few months with Tim, Tico wandered off, and that is where he joined the lives of John and Tina .
A day after Tina and John returned from a trip to Costa Rica, in April, Tico arrived in their back yard. Tina just sat out in the yard the entire weekend and just looked at him.
There were different viewpoints in the community regarding how Tico should be kept. Some believed he should be cooped, others felt he should be free.
Tina and John waited for someone to come forward and claim the beautiful bird.
Two months in, they decided to keep and protect Tico. When foxes took 20 of their quail hens, they knew it was important to keep Tico safe. Not just from the foxes, but also cars. Tico nearly got struck by vehicles on Main St.
And they decided to call him Tico. Tico is what the costa ticans call themselves, the girls ticas and boys ticos… Pavo royal is what peacocks are called in Spanish meaning the royal turkey.
Once under their protection, Tico began to be attracted in a more ‘serious’ way with their chickens, especially being fond of Chikera.
Right now, Tico is looking for a mate. Sadly, Carrboro isn’t exactly crawling with available female peacocks, so Tico’s quest will be in vain. Ticos quest will continue to bring him into danger with foxes, vehicles and other hazards. Apparently mating season is until August
Tina and John have recently expanded their coop to a much larger bird sanctuary for all of their critters to coexist, out in front of their home, where everyone can come by and see him (from the sidewalk)
From Tina: “The other thing is that Tico symbolizes enlightenment and third eye awakening. When Tico arrived we had just returned from Costa Rica where we did chakra work for the first time. Returning to this bird in our yard was the most life affirming experience I’ve ever had.”
“While traveling, I was beginning to get nervous about coming back to the states. It’s just the food, the culture, the connection to nature was so abundant in Costa Rica, I didn’t want to leave it.”
“.. the second we got back to Carrboro, John and I went for a bike ride and realized Carrboro has all of the things we were longing for if we just lean into it.”
“Tico to me is a symbol that our town and community are doing something right by making a habitat that a creature like this is clearly thriving in (minus a girlfiriend)”
If you want to see Tico
Stop by, visitors are always welcome to come and admire Tico from the sidewalk. Tina and John are great hosts, and they look forward to growing their education space. (The Shared Nest) However, it goes without saying that wandering around their small family farm is not recommended!
If you see Tico in Carrboro. (Tico is a bit of a Houdini) .. if you see him wandering around town, the best thing to do is to enjoy Tico from a safe distance and mention it to John. and Tina in person, or contact Orange County Animal control.
They are hoping to find a partner , but for now, Tico will share their enlarged space with the family’s chickens
