The closest most of us will get to holding a kārearea or the New Zealand falcon is when we pick up a $20 note.
But some brave souls from Wingspan Rotorua are getting much closer to the birds in real life.
It sounds simple but it's much harder than you realise because one wrong move and you'll get dive-bombed at speeds of 100 kilometres an hour.
They're the Usain Bolt of the bird world and in the wild, falcons are not your friend.
It's nesting season in the Whakarewarewa forest but predators and the public mean the falcon's precious eggs, nestled on the ground, are at risk.
Story nervously joined the team to rescue the eggs which includes a plan involving a decoy egg to fool the falcon.
Watch the video for the full Story report.
