Hundreds of people are using the trail each day, local mountain biker Steve Birch said. He took this photo of a falcon swooping on his friend Stephen Millar.

Cyclists are under attack on a central North Island trail.

Nesting falcons Sery and Ford have been swooping, talons drawn, at cyclists and small dogs on a popular piece of the Te Ara Ahi cycleway, just south of Rotorua.

The message from the pair of kārearea is simple: stay away from our young.

GOOGLE The falcons are nesting in the Hemo Gorge area, just south of Rotorua. Trail users are asked to take a detour which runs closer to State Highway 5.

The Rotorua Trails Trust is recommending a detour around the Hemo Gorge section of the trail, which runs through the edge of the Whakarewarewa Forest.

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Mountain biker Steve Birch was heading through a couple of days ago when he felt talons scrape his helmet.

He turned to photograph the falcon swooping on his friend Stephen Millar who was following close behind.

"The falcons have been swooping at everybody who has been cycling through," he said.

"Now I think they should close that track because hundreds of people are cycling through every day."

If the birds are coming at you head-on you can see them dive from a height, he said, but sometimes they come from the side.

"You can hear the screech, then bang on your helmet as the talons make contact."

It's something he has come across on various forest trails over the past couple of years and it's exciting to watch, he said.

But he thinks it must be pretty tiring for the birds on such a popular trail, with one protecting the nest and the other searching for food.

The nest is in a bank, Birch said, and he was able to see two chicks inside through a spotting scope being used to monitor it.

Given the popularity of this trail, especially in the holiday period, Birch thought it should be closed for about four weeks while the falcons nested.

He planned to speak to a member of Rotorua Trails Trust about the idea.

On Facebook, the trust "highly recommended" a detour.

Cyclists and walkers could avoid attacks by taking a right onto the grass at the entrance by Te Puia carpark, or using the cycle path on the side of State Highway 5, a post said.

The detour ends at the intersection of the highway and Waipa Waipa State Mill Road - by the Mountain Bike Rotorua car park.