New Zealanders warned to steer clear of ‘bird of the year’ after dive-bomb attacks

New Zealanders are being warned to steer clear of the nation’s ‘bird of the year’ – the kārearea – after reports the fast-flying falcon is dive-bombing walkers who veer too close to their nests.

The threatened kārearea was crowned bird of the year in September, in the country’s long-running annual competition.

It is New Zealand’s fastest bird, capable of flying 200km/h in its pursuit of prey, and has impressive talons. Kārearea are powerful aerial hunters and watch other birds, lizards or small mammals – sometimes larger than themselves – from a high vantage point before diving to snatch their prey.

During nesting season, they become incredibly territorial and protective, which some walkers have discovered the hard way.

“I heard them before I saw them, then they swooped down on me a few times and circled me from above,” said Ellie Morgan, a photographer who encountered kārearea in Hanmer Springs, in the South Island last month.

“I got a few good shots of them in the sky but didn’t hang around long as I had clearly upset them and thought they must be protecting a nest,” she said in a post to facebook.

Last week, the Hutt city council, north of Wellington, warned people to stay away from a bush track in the region, after nesting kārearea were spotted.

“They have unfortunately been attacking track users on the path,” the council said. “We recommend avoiding this area for now and giving the 2025 bird of the year winners some space during the nesting season.”

Wellingtonian Dianna Thomson told broadcaster RNZ she was on a bush walk with her son when they encountered a kārearea.

“This kārearea swooped over my head, like really close,” she said, adding it gave her a new respect for the bird.

“It was pretty cool really … It’s good to know our place in the world, isn’t it?”

There are roughly 5,000 to 8,000 of the kārearea left, according to the Department of Conservation. They live in forests around the country and are vulnerable to predation by introduced mammals such as cats, hedgehogs and stoats who eat their ground-dwelling eggs.

Kārearea breed from spring until summer and will defend their young until they are ready to leave the nest, said Ali Meade, the conservation delivery manager at Forest & Bird.

The birds display territorial behaviour within a 400m radius of their nest, but going within 50m of the nest will get them “really, really excited”, she told the Guardian.

“They dive-bomb you … normally at the top of the head,” Meade said, adding that they typically will avoid contact, in order to protect themselves.

Habitat destruction has pushed the birds into smaller areas where there are likely to be walking tracks.

“We’re possibly coming into contact with them a bit more,” Meade said.

Walkers should avoid areas that display ‘kārearea nesting’ signs, and if they find themselves within swooping distance, they should calmly and quickly leave, she said.