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Emitting swift keck-keck-keck sounds that rang out through a central Berlin park, the goshawks climbed far over the canopy and circled before swooping downwards to chase off a disorganized group of crows that had begun to harass them.

"It's essentially a flying Batman enforcing law and order to the urban environment," remarked a wildlife expert, watching the sizable pale-bellied birds through a telescope. "They're like fighter jets."

The goshawk is an apex predator – and experts hope it will soon bring awe and joy to UK cities, following its presence in German urban areas. In the United Kingdom, this fast-moving raptor was hunted to virtual extinction and just began to recover in rural areas during the 1960s. It is still widely targeted on private lands and grouse moors.

Thriving in Continental Capitals

In other parts of Europe, the goshawk is thriving – even in bustling capitals such as the German capital, Amsterdam, and Prague. From a park in the city, where a sizable eyrie rested in the crown of a tree less than 100 metres from a war memorial, the elusive hunter preys on pigeons in the streets and even perches on building tops.

The birds have adapted to heavy vehicle flow – while tall glass buildings still pose a threat – and are much more at ease with the steady stream of dogwalkers, joggers, and kids than their woodland counterparts would be with humans.

"This is just like any park in the UK, that's the amazing thing," commented the director of a rewilding initiative, which plans to bring goshawks to Chester and London in the first stage of a program reintroducing them to urban environments. "It demonstrates this can be accomplished swiftly – without difficulty, but with great enthusiasm."

Assisted Colonisation Proposal

The expert is planning to present a application for the "assisted colonisation" of the northern goshawk to the authorities in the coming weeks; the scheme foresees the release of 15 birds in both of the two cities, obtained as juveniles from wild European eyries and British breeders.

He hopes they will provide help of Britain's beleaguered songbirds by preying on mid-sized predators such as corvids, magpies, and jackdaws, whose numbers have grown without control and threatened birds lower on the food chain.

Their arrival should have an instant effect on the "brazen" medium-sized birds that prey on tiny species that people love, says the conservationist, referencing a similar phenomenon documented in wolves. "This is what's called an landscape of fear. Everybody realizes the apex predators are in town."

Possible Hurdles and Dangers

Rewilding projects across the continent have faced strong resistance 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 expanded, they have started to consume farm animals and in certain instances confront humans.

The introduction of the goshawk into urban Britain is not expected to spark a comparable backlash – the birds already live in different parts of the nation, and animal guardians and city residents have minimal to fear from them – but the species has created conflicts even in urban centers it has inhabited for years.

In Berlin, where an approximate 100 mated couples constitute the largest density in the globe, and other European towns, these hawks have turned into the focus of pigeon and chicken breeders whose birds are being consumed.

A scientist who has studied goshawk adjustment to urban environments employed GPS transmitters to monitor 60 birds as part of her doctorate, and says that although there could be possible advantages from employing goshawks to control mesopredators in British cities, young birds removed from countryside nests may struggle to adjust to city life and emphasized the need to include all stakeholders early on. "Overall, it's a risky business."

Expert Opinions

An ornithologist who has studied hawk behavior in rural Britain said it was uncertain if the birds would choose to remain in urban environments and improbable that the proposed quantity would be sufficient to have a noticeable positive effect on garden bird numbers. "What will happen of those 15 birds?" he said. "I suspect is they'll probably scatter into the nearest countryside."

The project leader is nevertheless upbeat about the project's chances. The specialist, who has previously been granted a licence to track the Highland tiger and was a technical adviser for a project that brought the large bird back to the UK, contends that approaching releases in a "humane way" is the essential element to success.

Past Rewilding Attempts

The conservationist's initial attempt to reintroduce wild cats to the UK was rejected by the government official on the recommendation of the wildlife agency in 2018. A draft application for a test release has also faced opposition, even though the chair of the nature body lately showed interest about the prospect of reintroducing the feline predator during his 24-month term.

If the hawk project proceeds, the birds will be fitted with GPS transmitters – an endeavour expected to account for almost half of the estimated project cost of £110,000 – and be provided a regular source of food for as much as is needed after being released. In the German city, the conservationist stressed the psychological benefit of city-dwellers being able to observe a predator as secretive as the raptor while they conduct their daily routines, rather than placing rewilding projects only in countryside locations.

"It will bring such excitement," he declared. "Individuals visit the park to give food to birds. In the future they'll be going to observe hawks."