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Emitting rapid keck-keck-keck calls that echoed across a central Berlin park, the large hawks soared high over the canopy and wheeled before swooping down to scatter a ragged flock of black birds that had begun to mob them.

"It's basically a flying Batman bringing law and order to the city," stated a wildlife expert, observing the large light-breasted birds through a telescope. "They are like fighter jets."

The goshawk is an top predator – and conservationists hope it will soon deliver awe and joy to UK cities, following its success in German urban areas. In the UK, this swift bird of prey was persecuted to near extinction and only began to bounce back in rural areas during the 1960s. It remains commonly persecuted on private lands and grouse moors.

Flourishing in Continental Cities

In other parts of the continent, the northern goshawk is thriving – even in bustling cities such as Berlin, the Dutch capital, and Prague. From a park in the city, where a sizable nest sat in the crown of a tree under 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 traffic – although high glass buildings still present a danger – and are far more at ease with the steady stream of pet owners, joggers, and schoolchildren than their woodland counterparts would be with people.

"It is just like any park in the United Kingdom, that's the magical aspect," commented the head of a rewilding project, which plans to introduce goshawks to two UK cities in the initial phase of a project introducing them to cities. "It proves this can be done swiftly – with little difficulty, but with great enthusiasm."

Assisted Colonisation Plan

The expert is preparing to submit a application for the "assisted colonisation" of the northern goshawk to the authorities in the coming weeks; the scheme foresees the freeing of 15 birds in both of the selected urban areas, sourced as chicks from wild European eyries and UK aviaries.

He expects they will provide help of the UK's struggling garden birds by hunting mid-sized predators such as crows, black-and-white birds, and small crows, whose populations have increased unchecked and endangered birds further down the food chain.

Their presence should have an immediate effect on the "brazen" mid-sized birds that attack tiny species that people adore, explains the conservationist, pointing to a similar phenomenon observed in wolves. "This is what's known as an landscape of fear. Everyone knows the big guys are in town."

Possible Challenges and Risks

Rewilding projects throughout Europe have faced strong opposition from agricultural workers and activist factions in recent years, as large carnivores such as wild canines and bears have returned to lands now inhabited by humans. As their populations have grown, they have begun to consume livestock and in certain instances confront humans.

The reintroduction of the goshawk into city Britain is unlikely to spark a comparable resistance – the birds currently reside in other parts of the nation, and animal guardians and urban gardeners have little to worry about from them – but the bird has created conflicts even in cities it has inhabited for years.

In Berlin, where an approximate 100 mated couples represent the highest-known density in the world, and other European towns, goshawks have turned into the target of bird fanciers whose animals are being consumed.

A researcher who has studied goshawk adjustment to urban settings employed GPS transmitters to monitor 60 birds as part of her PhD, and says that while there could be potential advantages from using goshawks to regulate mid-level predators in UK cities, chicks removed from countryside homes may struggle to adjust to city life and emphasized the need to include all interested parties from the start. "In general, it's a risky business."

Expert Opinions

An ornithologist who has examined goshawk behavior in rural Britain commented it was uncertain if the raptors would decide to stay in cities and improbable that the suggested numbers would be enough to have a noticeable beneficial effect on garden bird populations. "What is the fate of those 15 birds?" he asked. "I suspect is they'll probably scatter into the nearest rural areas."

The project leader is nonetheless optimistic about the initiative's prospects. The specialist, who has previously been awarded a permit to tag the Highland tiger and was a technical adviser for a project that reintroduced the great bustard back to the UK, argues that handling reintroductions in a "humane way" is the key to achievement.

Previous Rewilding Attempts

The conservationist's first effort to reintroduce lynx to the UK was rejected by the government official on the recommendation of the nature body in recent years. A draft proposal for a trial release has also faced opposition, even though the chair of the nature organization lately expressed interest about the prospect of reintroducing the feline predator during his 24-month term.

If the hawk project goes ahead, the raptors will be equipped with GPS devices – an task expected to account for almost 50% of the estimated project cost of £110,000 – and be provided a steady source of food for as long as is needed after being freed. In Berlin, the conservationist highlighted the mental advantage of city-dwellers being able to observe a hunter as elusive as the raptor while they conduct their daily routines, rather than locating conservation schemes only in rural areas.

"It will bring such excitement," he said. "Individuals visit the green space to feed pigeons. In the future they'll be traveling to see goshawks."