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The Divine Peacocks of Saint John’s Were Celebrated as They Headed Off to Retirement

January 23, 2023 | 10:08 AM
in HISTORY, NEWS, OUTDOORS
13
Phil, the albino peacock that lived in St. John the Divine’s grounds for 20 years with two other peacocks. Photo Credit: Saint John the Divine.

By Alejandro Maroño Porto

Saturday’s mid-30s temperatures and overcast, gloomy weather didn’t stop Danna Mesh from saying goodbye to Jim and Phil, her beloved neighbors. “They’re elderly and need to be taken care of,” said Mesh, an Upper West Side resident since 2017. “It’s time for them to go upstate and retire.”

Unlike other New Yorkers, however, Jim and Phil won’t spend their golden days strutting through Beacon’s Main Street or fishing in the Catskills. Their new home will be Animal Nation, a nonprofit sanctuary in South Salem, NY that has agreed to take the two elderly peacocks and their companion, Harry. The three birds have been a main attraction at Saint John the Divine Cathedral since the early 2000s, and on Saturday, the church held a celebration to honor their lasting impact in the community.

Jim, one of the retiring peacocks from Saint John the Divine. Photo credit: Alex Maroño Porto.

The event, which drew dozens of people, went on without Harry, who was already at the Animal Nation sanctuary after he injured a tendon recently. “He’s living the good life,” said Angela Robinson, the peacocks’ caregiver for the last two-and-a-half years.

Angela Robinson in front of the hutch that housed St. John the Divine’s three peacocks until Saturday evening. Photo credit: Alex Maroño Porto.

Despite the enthusiastic visitors, Phil and Jim didn’t leave their heated, feather-like hutch, especially designed for them  in 2017, because of the chilly weather. “It’s too cold for them,” Robinson explained to the gathered peacock fans – and to “Amigo,” a king cavalier and poodle mix that couldn’t stop barking at the feathery duo. 

Robinson said she was sad to see them go, though she believes the busy cathedral grounds are no longer a good environment for their well being. “A bottle might break and they might get hurt,” she said. And in their old age, the peacocks are struggling with arthritis, for which they will receive special care at Animal Nation, which currently hosts five other peacocks. “They are my feather babies,” said Robinson, shortly before bursting into tears. “It was a hard decision but we decided to send them. Phil will be the one that will suffer the most because he’s the entertainer.” 

Visitors who came to say goodby agreed with the decision to send the birds away. “They should be free,” said Rebecca, a former nurse at Mount Sinai Morningside. “It’d be nice for them to have natural space,” added Annie, a former Columbia University student. Wrapped in puffer jackets and winter hats, almost every neighbor wanted to know if the cathedral was planning to replace Jim, Phil and Harry with a new set of peachicks, thus continuing a tradition that started in 1972 with a donation from the Bronx Zoo. 

Rebecca, a former nurse who lived on the Upper West Side from 1981 to 1992. Photo credit: Alex Maroño Porto.

“Some members of the Cathedral community — staff, congregants, friends and neighbors — want to see a new generation of peacocks because there has been a long, beautiful tradition, but other members are circumspect because there is so much more information today related to animal cognition and animal rights,” said Lisa Schubert, the cathedral’s vice president for programming and external relations, at the celebration. “When peacocks first arrived in the 1970s, the grounds of the cathedral were more of a pastoral oasis; today there are cars, trucks, many active children and equipment. While the peacocks are loved by all, they require complex care [and the] cathedral leadership is weighing how best to move forward.”

Peacocks, or peafowl, are native to the Indian subcontinent. They usually live between 15 to 20 years, said Patrick Moore, Animal Nation’s president, but the cathedral trio are already into their 20s. “They’re doing well here, they’re well loved,” he said. Although their diet mainly consists of specially formulated bird food developed by an exotic-birds company, they always save room for a particular pleasure. “They give them nuts and kale as a treat,” said Moore. 

Kale, one of the peacocks’ favorite treats. Photo credit: Alex Maroño Porto.

The peacock’s farewell celebration also featured a family festival organized by Advancing the Community of Tomorrow, ACT, a program developed in 1971 under the cathedral umbrella to support the needs of the community’s children and youth through nursery programs, after school projects, and summer camps. A yearly event, they decided to have a peacock-themed festival in their first post-Covid celebration to honor the iconic birds. “The cathedral holds a special part in their hearts, their land and their community for the animals,” said Marie Del Tejo, ACT executive director and an Upper West Side resident for over 60 years. 

Children and adults were posing in front of a peacock photoshoot. Photo credit: Alex Maroño Porto.

Shortly before 4 p.m., Patrick Malloy, the cathedral’s dean since last summer, offered a farewell speech in front of the crowd. “The ethical thing for us to do would be to send them to a place where they can be truly cared for by people who know how to care for them,” Malloy said through a microphone. “We’re doing our best to be the best for these birds who have been our pets for all these years.” 

Dean Patrick Mallow speaking to the crowd next to the peacocks’ hutch. Photo credit: Alex Maroño Porto.

After a short prayer, Animal Nation workers climbed up the two wooden stools leading to the hutch’s transparent doors and put Phil in a white Volkswagen Tiguan and Jim in a red Ford F150. 

“Happy retirement!” shouted Isadora Wilkenfeld, the cathedral’s director of programming and communications, as the birds left their home of two decades for the last time, to join their elder brother upstate.

A child with a paper horn that mimicked the sound of the peacocks. Photo credit: Alex Maroño Porto.
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Joe
Joe
12 days ago

Please replace them.

10
Reply
Alex
Alex
12 days ago

Ooh, I wish I’d known this before they left. They were always such a cheering and surprising sight to behold. I agree with Ms. Schubert that we now know so much more about animal mind, and the importance of animal well-being, that it would be wrong to “replace” them. This isn’t a good environment for peacocks, to say the least. Let the animals be.

7
Reply
Farnham Maxwell
Farnham Maxwell
11 days ago
Reply to  Alex

Thank you Alex..Im beginning to feel NYC ” isn’t a good environment” for people either…xxx

2
Reply
rteplow
rteplow
12 days ago
Reply to  Alex

I’m not sure the cathedral grounds are such a bad place for them since they seem to have exceeded their typical life span. I hope they are replaced. I loved seeing them!

10
Reply
Paul
Paul
12 days ago

And another piece of the unique place that once was NYC is gone.

3
Reply
Roseann
Roseann
12 days ago

I always loved to see one of them when I visited the Cathedral. I never saw the handsome Phil and his glory.

0
Reply
Ellen
Ellen
12 days ago

Grateful that Animal Nation will give the loved, now ageing Jim, Phil and Harry wonderful peacock care. I recall two beautiful peacocks on the southeast garden-grounds of the Cathedral in the mid-late 1970s. It was very peaceful and green and visiting the peacocks was much appreciated — I would sit out and study while they were strutting about.

0
Reply
Christine E
Christine E
11 days ago
Reply to  Ellen

I remember having an unseasonably warm December picnic on a bench in the cathedral green. The peacocks came up and studied US!

Spotting the peacocks at the catherdral was always a magical encounter and a gentle reminder of the power of the annual Blessing of the Animals.

0
Reply
Ellen
Ellen
10 days ago
Reply to  Christine E

Yes, I recall the bench was towards the rear grounds with the bench toward the rear of the Cathedral, very quiet in those days before any building connected to the Cathedral or the grounds.

0
Reply
Sali
Sali
12 days ago

South Salem, NY is in Westchester county, NY, which is not considered “upstate”. It’s less than an hour from the UWS.

1
Reply
Nancy
Nancy
12 days ago
Reply to  Sali

“Upstate” to different New Yorkers can mean anything from “north of 14th St” to “north of Albany” to “north of Lake George.” You may disagree with the person quoted, but we can rest assured there are many others who disagree with you. I’m interested to know that the sanctuary (and South Salem) are in Westchester County, so thanks for that info.

Long live the peacocks! (I guess in fact they already have lived long.)

1
Reply
Pat W
Pat W
12 days ago

I wanted to add that it was always such a treat to see them and I love that they used to walk around free. I felt like I was their guest and that’s how it should be!

0
Reply
woodcider
woodcider
12 days ago

If they could find rescue peacocks I think that would be a not only a nice way to maintain a tradition but to help birds in need.

4
Reply

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