UPDATE THURSDAY 7.40PM: It seems the case of Bendigo's most famous wandering peacock might finally be solved, with its adventure reaching a delightful climax on Thursday afternoon.
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Strathdale resident Kim found the peacock this afternoon, when it "just appeared" on her deck.
"We were inside and it just appeared," she said.
"My daughter looked up and said, 'There's a peacock on our deck!'"
The Bendigo Advertiser has contacted Fitzy's family to notify them on its finding, and they were overjoyed to learn of the news.
Kim said the bird was safely secured in her yard and would be hard pressed to pull any more of its Houdini disappearance stunts we've seen over the past week.
An emotional reunion between man and bird may yet be on the cards...
We'll let you know how the reunion pans out in the morning.
UPDATE TUESDAY 6PM: A La Trobe University staff member says he saw a lone peacock roaming along Edwards Road, Flora Hill yesterday.
Glen told the Bendigo Advertiser he last saw the peacock about 4.30pm on Monday but has not seen it since.
He said other university staff had seen the birds wandering near the campus a week earlier.
UPDATE MONDAY 4PM: The owner of two peacocks that went missing a week ago believes one of his birds has been stolen.
Strathfieldsaye man, 'Fitzy', said he went to Nunn Street in Flora Hill on Friday evening last week where the peacocks had been in the care of friendly resident Allan Valentine.
Fitzy found one of his birds near Mr Valentine's home but the other was missing.
Knowing they were good friends and had stuck together throughout their adventure away from home, Fitzy decided to leave the one peacock there in the hope that the other would return.
He came back in the morning to find the lone peacock had not been joined by its friend, so he took it home.
Fitzy is convinced someone in the neighbourhood took the other bird.
He said the one that went missing was the quieter of the two birds.
"He would have been easier for strangers to catch," Fitzy said.
Fitzy is not concerned about the financial loss because he only paid $80 for each bird, but he is worried for the remaining bird who is missing its friend.
"He's fretting for his mate and it would be nice if he'd turn up," he said.
"We suspect that someone's liked him very much and it's very disappointing."
Fitzy said Mr Valentine did a great job looking after his birds after he would never have known where they were.
He's not sure what to do about his lone peacock and said he might buy another one so it has a mate.
If anyone knows anything about the missing peacock, they can call the Bendigo Advertiser on 5434 4470.
UPDATE FRIDAY 11AM: TWO peacocks discovered at a Flora Hill property yesterday appear to have walked there from Strathfieldsaye.
The birds' owner, 'Fitzy', lives in Strathfieldsaye and last saw his pets on Sunday.
He rang the Bendigo Advertiser after recognising his birds' features in the video.
Fitzy said he bought the peacocks in November and kept them in a large pen to train them to become 'home birds'.
On Sunday, he let them out for the first time.
But alas, they took the opportunity and ran away.
A peacock breeder who spoke to the Bendigo Advertiser yesterday said peacocks were able to fly in short spurts, but mostly just walked.
The two peacocks covered a lot of ground over five days until Allan Valentine saw them wandering casually through his gate.
Mr Valentine said the birds were still in his yard this morning but later disappeared over his fence.
The two men are now in touch, but it remains to be seen whether Fitzy will be able to catch his cheeky pets.
"It's going to be a job to get them back, it's going to be interesting," he said.
If he can't get them back tonight, Fitzy said he would have to wait until Sunday because he has to attend a wedding in Wangaratta tomorrow.
Bendigo Animal Welfare and Community Services president Debbie Edwards rang earlier in the day to offer shelter to the birds if the owner was not found.
THURSDAY: FLORA Hill resident Allan Valentine had a pleasant surprise this morning when he saw a pair of peacocks wandering through his gate.
Mr Valentine doesn't know where they came from or who they belong to, but he doesn't mind the multi-coloured visitors letting themselves in.
"If they want to make it home, I'll have them," he said.
Mr Valentine said peacocks were renowned for making loud noises, though when the Bendigo Advertiser visited they were quite shy.
Mr Valentine has so far kept the pair quite happy in his backyard by feeding them bits of bread.
If someone doesn't claim the birds soon, he said he might call a wildlife shelter, though he was happy to entertain the new guests.
To claim the peacocks please call the Bendigo Advertiser on 5434 4470 and we will get in touch with Mr Valentine.