Dive-bombing plovers are causing humans to duck for cover and curse as spring approaches and the feisty birds look to protect their nests.
Hunter Wildlife Rescue posted on social media this week that "the weather is warming up and we've had some rain".
"That means plovers (masked lapwings) are starting to nest. Plovers nest on the ground in open grassland, so they can see threats long before they reach the nest," the post said.
"Avoid the nest and give them a wide berth - they will defend the area fiercely and swoop if they feel threatened."
BirdLife Australia's Mick Roderick said plovers "can tell when you're moving away".
"It's only if you push them that they will go you," he said.
Mr Roderick said magpie breeding season was "just around the corner as well".
"If you give the lapwings a wide berth, they won't come near you. Magpies are a bit different. They seem to pick out individuals. You can give them a wide berth and they'll still go you."
Plovers traditionally dive-bomb people in "early spring to early summer".
They have hit people in the head, but "not as often as a magpie will connect".
The plovers have spurs on their wings, which explains their other name of "spur-winged plover".
"They have been known to connect, but that's not a common thing."
The plovers, then, are more of an audiovisual threat.
Magpies "might squawk a bit", but the plovers "make so much noise that they give you heaps of warning".
"So to be honest, nobody should really be hit by a lapwing because they give you a fairer go than magpies do.
"As soon as you hear them, you think 'which way should I go'. Generally speaking, you'd need to keep going towards them before they'd actually attack you."
He said plovers were "100 per cent native".
"Spring is basically here now and there's more breeding activity, but we're finding these birds are starting to breed at any time.
"They've become real opportunists and realise there's a constant food source in the city."
Mr Roderick said plovers "don't like dogs".
"Dogs really set them off," he added.
The plovers are known to lay eggs on roundabouts.
Mr Rockerick said this was "a good anti-predator strategy".
"It'd be hard for a predator to get across a busy road onto a roundabout."
