Dork, the Stork, after disappearing for a while, returned to the neighborhood with his mate and three offspring in tow. That is Dork on the fence. He appears to be checking out the territory prior to signaling the "all clear" to his family behind him in the neighbor's yard. Since this picture was taken, all five birds have adopted this area as their favorite "feeding" grounds. Well, at least as long as free handouts are the order of the day!

These colorful, feathery friends patrol our neighborhood on frequent occasions to check out the quantity and quality of food made available to them. They condescend to eat bits of hot dogs left unconsumed by the water birds; however they let it be known that they prefer pastries, especially chunks of Arnold's Country Oats bread, and other vegetarian fare.

Here are two of the peacocks that wondered into Dick's Place. I blocked their route in order to snap this picture and it is obvious, even to the casual observer, that they are not at all happy about my intrusion. These frisky characters are often accused of interfering with the peace and quite of a neighborhood with thier constant shrieking. The wife, Ruth, insists they sound much like a vociferous, loud-mouthed cat who finds itself facing a most frightening and precarious situation.

Here is the final shot of these alien characters who are guilty of infringing on territory ordinarily reserved for storks, seagulls, pelicans, herons, comorants, terns and other sea birds. The fact that they were uninvited seems to bother them not a single bit! I note they just happen to wonder in when the ordinary guests are busy elsewhere!

Shown above is the new 6 ft wooden fence installed along the North property line in Ocotober, 2002. Also we note our friends are shuffling about the yard, probably awaiting some hot dog chunks for dinner. Amongst the birds, one will note the darker of the group in the right-center of the picture. This happens to be our most consistent guest, Big Foot the Heron, who undoubtedly is a bit disturbed at the storks who prefer to ignore him.