A Texas neighborhood halted mail deliveries after hawks kept swooping down and attacking people: 'I literally can't walk outside'

• Territorial hawks that have nested in a Texas neighborhood are attacking its residents.
• Experts say the birds are in their nesting season and are guarding their babies.

A bird of prey has residents of a Texas neighborhood ducking for cover whenever they leave the house.

Territorial hawks have chosen Austin's Travis Heights neighborhood as its nesting ground and are forcefully protecting their young, in some cases attacking local residents.

The problem is so bad that the US Postal Service was forced to temporarily halt mail deliveries to protect its postal workers, a local ABC News affiliate reported.

"Since April, I literally can't walk outside without having it sweep past me or hit me," Eric Klein told the outlet about a hawk that flew down and struck him. "I mean, literally think of a rock the size of your fist and getting hit in the head with it. That's what it feels like."

The confrontational birds nested outside his front door, making the walk to his car a treacherous one.

Nicole Netherton, the executive director of the county's chapter of the Audubon Society, said the birds are in their nesting season, making them particularly territorial. They're also an environmentally protected species that can't be killed or removed from their nests.

"They have invested so much energy into being sure that these babies are successful and they don't know that we're not trying to eat them. We are like anything else in their environment that could be a predator," Netherton told KVUE.

For residents who can't avoid the nests of the birds of prey, Netherton recommended carrying an umbrella for protection.

"I know it's frustrating to feel like you have this hawk that's really mad at you, but as soon as those babies leave the nest, they will calm down," Netherton said.