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Releasing rapid keck-keck-keck calls that resounded through a downtown Berlin park, the large hawks soared far over the canopy and circled before diving down to scatter a ragged flock of black birds that had begun to harass them.

"They are essentially a soaring superhero enforcing law and order to the urban environment," remarked a wildlife expert, watching the large pale-bellied birds through a telescope. "They are like stealth bombers."

The goshawk is an top predator – and conservationists hope it will soon deliver awe and delight to UK cities, mirroring its success in European urban areas. In the United Kingdom, this swift raptor was hunted to near extinction and only began to bounce back in rural regions during the mid-20th century. It remains commonly targeted on private lands and hunting grounds.

Thriving in European Cities

In other parts of the continent, the northern goshawk is doing well – even in busy capitals such as the German capital, the Dutch capital, and Prague. From a park in Berlin, where a large eyrie rested in the crown of a tree under 100 metres from a monument, the "phantom of the forest" preys on city birds in the roads and even perches on rooftops.

The birds have adjusted to heavy vehicle flow – while high glass buildings still pose a danger – and are much more at ease with the constant flow of dogwalkers, runners, and kids than their forest-dwelling relatives would be with people.

"It is just like any park in the UK, that's the amazing thing," commented the head of a rewilding project, which plans to introduce these raptors to two UK cities in the first stage of a program reintroducing them to urban environments. "It proves this can be accomplished quickly – without difficulty, but with great excitement."

Assisted Colonisation Plan

The conservationist is planning to present a application for the "urban reintroduction" of the northern goshawk to the authorities in the coming weeks; the plan foresees the release of 15 birds in both of the two cities, sourced as chicks from wild continental eyries and UK breeders.

He expects they will provide help of the UK's beleaguered songbirds by preying on mesopredators such as crows, black-and-white birds, and jackdaws, whose populations have grown without control and endangered birds lower on the ecological pyramid.

Their arrival should have an instant effect on the "brazen" mid-sized birds that prey on tiny species that the public love, says the conservationist, referencing a comparable effect documented in wolves. "This is what's called an landscape of fear. Everybody realizes the big guys are in town."

Potential Challenges and Risks

Conservation projects throughout the continent have encountered fierce opposition from farmers and activist groups in the past decade, as big carnivores such as wild canines and bears have come back to lands now populated by humans. As their numbers have expanded, they have begun to consume livestock and in some cases confront humans.

The reintroduction of the raptor into urban Britain is unlikely to spark a similar resistance – the species currently reside in other parts of the country, and pet-owners and urban gardeners have little to fear from them – but the bird has caused conflicts even in cities it has long called home.

In Berlin, where an approximate 100 mated couples represent the highest-known density in the globe, and other European towns, goshawks have become the focus of pigeon and chicken breeders whose birds are being consumed.

A researcher who has researched raptor adaptation to city settings employed GPS trackers to monitor 60 birds as part of her PhD, and states that although there could be possible advantages from employing these predators to regulate mid-level predators in British urban areas, young birds removed from rural nests may find it hard to adapt to urban life and emphasized the need to include all interested parties early on. "Overall, it's a hazardous endeavour."

Scientific Opinions

An ornithologist who has examined hawk behaviour in rural England said it was uncertain if the raptors would decide to stay in urban environments and improbable that the suggested quantity would be sufficient to have a noticeable beneficial effect on backyard species numbers. "What will happen of those 15 birds?" he asked. "I suspect is they'll probably disperse into the closest rural areas."

The project leader is nonetheless optimistic about the project's chances. The specialist, who has previously been granted a permit to track the Scottish wildcat and was a scientific adviser for a program that brought the great bustard back to the UK, argues that handling releases in a "humane way" is the key to achievement.

Past Reintroduction Attempts

The expert's first effort to reintroduce wild cats to the United Kingdom was refused by the environment official on the recommendation of the wildlife body in 2018. A preliminary application for a test release has also faced opposition, although the chair of the environmental organization recently expressed interest about the idea of releasing the feline predator during his two-year tenure.

If the hawk project goes ahead, the raptors will be equipped with GPS devices – an endeavour expected to represent almost half of the estimated project cost of £110,000 – and be given a regular supply of nourishment for as much as is required after being released. In Berlin, the expert highlighted the mental benefit of city-dwellers being able to spot a predator as elusive as the goshawk while they conduct their daily routines, rather than locating rewilding projects only in rural locations.

"It'll inject such excitement," he said. "Individuals go to the park to give food to pigeons. In the future they'll be traveling to observe goshawks."