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Emitting quick keck-keck-keck cries that echoed through a downtown Berlin green space, the large hawks soared high above the canopy and wheeled before swooping down to chase off a ragged group of crows that had begun to harass them.

"It's basically a flying Batman enforcing law and order to the urban environment," stated a wildlife expert, watching the large pale-bellied birds through a telescope. "They are like stealth bombers."

The goshawk is an apex predator – and conservationists aspire it will soon deliver awe and joy to British cities, mirroring its success in German metropolises. In the United Kingdom, this swift bird of prey was hunted to virtual extinction and only started to recover in countryside regions during the mid-20th century. It remains commonly targeted on shooting estates and grouse moors.

Flourishing in European Capitals

In other parts of Europe, the goshawk is thriving – even in busy capitals such as Berlin, Amsterdam, and Prague. From a public garden in Berlin, where a large nest sat in the crown of a tree less than 100 metres from a monument, the elusive hunter hunts city birds in the roads and even rests on rooftops.

The birds have adapted to heavy traffic – while tall transparent structures still present a danger – and are far more comfortable with the steady stream of pet owners, joggers, and schoolchildren than their forest-dwelling relatives would be with people.

"It is similar to any green space in the United Kingdom, that's the magical thing," commented the head of a conservation project, which plans to bring goshawks to Chester and London in the initial phase of a program introducing them to cities. "It proves this can be done quickly – with little difficulty, but with so much enthusiasm."

Urban Reintroduction Proposal

The expert is preparing to submit a application for the "urban reintroduction" of the northern goshawk to the regulator in the coming weeks; the scheme envisions the release of 15 birds in each of the two cities, obtained as chicks from wild continental nests and UK aviaries.

He expects they will come to the rescue of the UK's struggling songbirds by hunting mid-sized predators such as corvids, magpies, and jackdaws, whose populations have increased without control and threatened birds lower on the food chain.

Their arrival should have an instant impact on the "bold" mid-sized birds that attack tiny species that the public love, says the conservationist, pointing to a comparable effect documented in canine predators. "This is what's called an landscape of fear. Everybody realizes the big guys are in the city."

Potential Challenges and Dangers

Rewilding efforts throughout the continent have encountered fierce opposition from farmers and political groups in recent years, as large carnivores such as wolves and bears have come back to territories now inhabited by people. As their numbers have grown, they have started to eat livestock and in certain instances attack humans.

The introduction of the raptor into urban England is not expected to trigger a comparable resistance – the birds already reside in different parts of the country, and pet-owners and urban gardeners have little to worry about from them – but the bird has caused conflicts even in cities it has inhabited for years.

In the German capital, where an approximate 100 mated couples constitute the largest concentration in the globe, and additional European cities, goshawks have turned into the target of pigeon and chicken breeders whose birds are being consumed.

A researcher who has studied raptor adaptation to urban environments employed GPS trackers to monitor 60 goshawks as part of her doctorate, and states that although there could be potential benefits from employing these predators to regulate mesopredators in UK cities, chicks taken from countryside homes may find it hard to adapt to urban life and stressed the need to include all interested parties early on. "In general, it's a hazardous endeavour."

Expert Opinions

An ornithologist who has examined hawk behavior in rural England commented it was uncertain if the raptors would decide to stay in urban environments and improbable that the suggested numbers would be enough to have a noticeable positive impact on backyard species populations. "What is the fate of those 15 birds?" he said. "My guess is they'll likely disperse into the nearest rural areas."

The project leader is nonetheless upbeat about the initiative's chances. The specialist, who has in the past been granted a permit to track the Highland tiger and was a scientific consultant for a program that reintroduced the large bird back to the UK, contends that approaching releases in a "humane way" is the essential element to success.

Previous Rewilding Attempts

The expert's first effort to bring back wild cats to the United Kingdom was refused by the environment secretary on the advice of the nature agency in 2018. A preliminary proposal for a trial reintroduction has also met opposition, although the chair of the nature body lately showed interest about the idea of releasing lynx during his two-year tenure.

If the hawk project goes ahead, the raptors will be fitted with GPS devices – an endeavour projected to represent almost 50% of the estimated budget of £110,000 – and be provided a steady source of food for as long as is required after being released. In the German city, the conservationist stressed the mental advantage of urban residents being able to spot a predator as elusive as the raptor while they conduct their daily routines, rather than placing conservation schemes only in rural locations.

"It will inject such excitement," he said. "People visit the green space to feed pigeons. In the future they'll be traveling to observe hawks."