Kyle, the beloved peacock of Lower Gibsons, has died

A feathered friend to many is being mourned in Gibsons this week. 

On Sunday, March 12, Janine Young and her husband found Kyle the peacock dead outside near their home on Glassford Road. They scooped him up into a box so the neighbourhood kids wouldn’t see, and gave him a proper burial. As they cleaned up the feathers, a neighbour discovered their door camera had captured footage of an off-leash dog attacking the large bird. The incident has been reported to Gibsons bylaw.

Since then, the peacock’s legacy has been the talk of the town. 

Peacocks have long been known to roam the Sunshine Coast. This peacock in particular wandered around the Lower Gibsons area for several years, and was known by many names: Kyle, Kevin, Henry and Louis interchangeably. Notably, he went by Kyle on election campaign posters in 2022 (though he was not an official candidate). 

Blake MacLeod, who did run for a seat on Gibsons council, was behind the Kyle 2022 project, which is an effort to raise awareness and funds for the Gibsons Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre (GWRC). Along with his daughter, a graphic designer, MacLeod created the posters, as well as locally-printed T-shirts and stickers that are for sale at the Kube. A portion of the proceeds goes to GWRC, and the passing of Kyle has seen a resurgence in sales.

“I've been impressed with the connection between the Lower Gibsons peacock and the community,” MacLeod said, though he notes the peacock has also been a source of controversy among some residents for noise and blocking traffic. 

“There is this real groundswell of emotional expression, and I think a lot of it has to do with families and the grieving that parents do with the knowledge that they lose their children to adulthood,” MacLeod said.

Other residents also commented on the peacock’s ability to bring people together. 

“It was just so nice to take a moment and admire him, and have a little laugh because he was such a silly bird in some ways and so beautiful,” Young said, adding that it’s been quieter in the neighbourhood. 

Where did he come from? Where did he go?

But Kyle’s origin remains a mystery, Young said. No one has outright claimed the peacock, though she’s heard different stories. He used to nap in her backyard, and developed a unique bond with the Young family’s rabbits. 

Deborah Greaves of Bayview Heights Road said she’s seen the peacock for at least five years, and he has a specific route he travels: from Franklin, Glassford and Cochran towards Gower Point Road near the Gibsons Public Market, Bayview Heights Road as well as the Charman Creek trail. 

Greaves said she always thought he would die by a vehicle strike “because he insisted on marching on Gower Point Road right on the yellow line.” 

“I think everybody that was on the bird’s route felt like it was their bird. He comes to see us,” Greaves said. Kyle liked to lounge and preen himself in sunny spots, and more than once tried to walk into the Greaves home. 

One couple purchased proper food for poultry to feed Kyle, who also liked to snack on peanuts, foraged bugs and even garden vegetables. 

Coast Reporter was not able to track down where this roaming peacock originally came from, but a hobby farmer in the area said peacocks have lived on the Sunshine Coast for more than 20 years. Peacocks can make great alarms, raising the call when predators are in the area, and are known to be intelligent and social birds. 

Upon hearing of the Gibsons Bay peacock’s fate, residents shared photos of another peacock on Clark Road (who is also known as Kyle to some, and as Douglas to others) to show he is still alive. Exactly how many peacocks roam in the Gibsons area is not clear, but peacocks have been known to live in the Clark Road area, near Reed and Henry Roads, the green waste depot, Roberts Creek and even Gambier Island. 

Now, an impromptu memorial for Kyle has sprung up on Glassford Road, and a more formal memorial is in the works. 

Gibsons mayor Silas White remarked on the legacy of Kyle in an email to Coast Reporter: “Kyle the peacock will be remembered as a true icon (certainly the most colourful) in Gibsons history, including ongoing mystery, gossip and debate surrounding his origins, his various names, and his imitators in Area E.

“In all seriousness, Kyle has had a profound impact during the social isolation of the pandemic, bringing together neighbours of all ages in small-community pride, curiosity, wonder and sometimes irritation.”