April 14, 2020 4.17 pm This story is over 47 months old

Peacocks reclaim Lincolnshire village during coronavirus lockdown

They marched down the main high street

Peacocks in a group walking towards a pub on Gosberton High Street. Photo: Facebook/Media Lincs

A group of peacocks has taken advantage of the lockdown to reclaim the streets of a Lincolnshire village.

Care worker Anna Cawthorn came across the “muster” of peacocks and peahens as they marched down the main high street in Gosberton, Lincolnshire.

The birds took advantage of the quiet roads by heading towards the nearest pub and convenience store.

Anna posted the picture after seeing the peacocks as she was on her way back from her shift at a local care home.

Posting on the Gosberton Village Facebook page, Anna wrote: “If anyone has lost peacocks they went from (the) church down High Street.”

The birds did not move until she reached the Co-op as she was returning from her night shift.

Peacocks roosting on a house roof in Salem Street in Gosberton. Photo: Facebook/Media Lincs

Another resident snapped two of the cheeky peacocks roosting on a house roof in Salem Street in Gosberton. Another male peacock was pictured in a villager’s back garden.

The village boasts just under 3,000 residents but with the roads quiet due to the lockdown it is understood the peacocks have been taking themselves for a daily walk from their owner’s home.

There have been a number of stories nationally of wildlife ‘reclaiming’ the streets during the coronavirus lockdown.

There were also some humorous responses by people to the post on Facebook.

One said: “Someone tell them the pub is shut, I’m sure they will turn back!”

Other people wrote “they are having their daily exercise” and “they are just enjoying the quiet”.

A lone bird in a villager’s back garden. Photo: Facebook/Media Lincs

Others came up with some alternative ideas – “new darts team” suggested one person, while another said “what a sight. Do you think they were off to the Co-op?”.

Elsewhere in the UK, a herd of fallow deer were recently seen grazing on the lawns in front of a housing estate in east London. It’s thought they came from the nearby Dagnam Park.

In Wales, a herd of goats took over the deserted town centre of Llandudno, eating hedges and flowers from gardens.

In central Cambridge it was reported over the weekend that a large ‘wildcat’ had been spotted roaming around a resident’s garden.