An Alexandra woman had a close encounter with one of New Zealand's apex predators which acted more like pet bird than a wild animal.
Former Aucklander Cathy Richards' hour-and-a-half daytime rendezvous with a curious harrier hawk was an experience she never thought she'd ever have.
While she had seen harrier hawks around her 5-acre lifestyle block before, she wasn't sure if the one which visited on Thursday was one she'd seen previously.
She first saw it when she had let her chickens out of their coop.
"I saw the hawk, it flew down and landed by the pond and was having a drink or playing with something. It raised its head up and started to fly towards me, it landed in the shrub behind me. It stayed there, walked towards me, I put my arm out and it walked towards me," she says.
The bird was so calm Ms Richards was able to stroke it as it used her arm as a perch.
And it was heavy.
"When he was on my arm, his talons didn't break the skin, but I have bruises on my arm."
It was unperturbed by the presence of her cat Mecca and the other birds including the chickens, ducks and quail.
She wasn't sure how long the hawk would stick around for, so she took the opportunity to take as many selfies as she could, including one with the bird sitting on her head.
A Forest and Bird spokeswoman says it is rare for a harrier to be so friendly with humans.
"It could be a trained bird, but if that were the case it would definitely be tagged and this one isn't.
"My guess is that it has been hand-reared by someone and then released back into the wild," she said.
The birds are prone to being hit by cars because they pick at roadkill and are often taken to rescue centres to rehabilitate.
Forest and Bird believes the hawk could be a juvenile because it has darker plumage which could also answer why it was so keen to hang around.
Newshub.
