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Producing swift keck-keck-keck cries that rang out across a downtown Berlin park, the goshawks soared high above the canopy and circled before plunging downwards to scatter a disorganized group of black birds that had begun to harass them.

"It's essentially a soaring superhero enforcing justice to the urban environment," remarked a wildlife expert, watching the large light-breasted birds through a telescope. "They are akin to fighter jets."

The goshawk is an apex predator – and experts aspire it will soon bring wonder and joy to UK cities, mirroring its presence in European urban areas. In the United Kingdom, this fast-moving raptor was hunted to virtual extinction and only began to recover in rural regions during the mid-20th century. It is still widely targeted on private lands and hunting grounds.

Flourishing in European Capitals

In other parts of Europe, the northern goshawk is thriving – even in bustling cities such as Berlin, the Dutch capital, and the Czech capital. From a park in the city, where a sizable nest rested in the crown of a tree under 100 metres from a monument, the "phantom of the forest" hunts city birds in the roads and even perches on building tops.

The raptors have adjusted to busy vehicle flow – while tall transparent structures still present a threat – and are far more at ease with the steady stream of pet owners, joggers, and kids than their forest-dwelling counterparts would be with people.

"It is just like any park in the United Kingdom, that's the amazing aspect," said the head of a rewilding initiative, which plans to introduce these raptors to Chester and London in the first stage of a project reintroducing them to urban environments. "It proves this can be accomplished swiftly – with little much fuss, but with so much enthusiasm."

Assisted Colonisation Proposal

The conservationist is planning to present a proposal for the "assisted colonisation" of the northern goshawk to the regulator in the near future; the plan foresees the release of 15 birds in both of the selected urban areas, sourced as chicks from wild European eyries and British aviaries.

He hopes they will provide help of the UK's beleaguered garden birds by hunting mid-sized predators such as crows, magpies, and jackdaws, whose populations have increased unchecked and threatened birds lower on the food chain.

Their arrival should have an immediate impact on the "brazen" medium-sized birds that attack tiny species that the public adore, explains the conservationist, referencing a comparable phenomenon documented in canine predators. "This is what's known as an ecology of fear. Everyone knows the big guys are in the city."

Potential Challenges and Dangers

Rewilding efforts throughout the continent have encountered strong opposition from farmers and activist factions in the past decade, as large carnivores such as wild canines and bears have come back to lands now populated by people. As their numbers have expanded, they have started to consume livestock and in certain instances attack humans.

The introduction of the goshawk into city Britain is unlikely to trigger a comparable resistance – the birds currently live in other parts of the nation, and animal guardians and urban gardeners have minimal to fear from them – but the bird has created tensions even in cities it has long called home.

In the German capital, where an estimated 100 mated couples constitute the highest-known density in the globe, and additional German towns, goshawks have turned into the focus of pigeon and chicken breeders whose animals are being eaten.

A scientist who has researched raptor adjustment to urban settings employed GPS trackers to monitor 60 birds as part of her PhD, and states that while there could be potential advantages from using these predators to regulate mid-level predators in UK cities, chicks taken from rural homes may struggle to adapt to urban life and emphasized the importance to involve all interested parties early on. "Overall, it's a risky endeavour."

Expert Views

An ornithologist who has studied goshawk behaviour in rural England said it was uncertain if the birds would choose to remain in cities and unlikely that the proposed quantity would be sufficient to have a noticeable positive impact on garden bird populations. "What is the fate of those 15 birds?" he asked. "I suspect is they'll probably scatter into the closest countryside."

The conservationist is nonetheless optimistic about the initiative's prospects. The expert, who has previously been awarded a permit to tag the Scottish wildcat and was a scientific adviser for a project that reintroduced the great bustard back to the United Kingdom, argues that handling reintroductions in a "welfare-based manner" is the key to success.

Past Rewilding Efforts

The expert's first attempt to bring back lynx to the United Kingdom was rejected by the environment secretary on the recommendation of the nature body in 2018. A draft application for a trial reintroduction has also faced opposition, although the chair of the nature organization recently showed interest about the prospect of reintroducing lynx during his two-year tenure.

If the hawk project proceeds, the raptors will be fitted with GPS devices – an task expected to represent almost half of the projected budget of £110,000 – and be provided a regular supply of nourishment for as much as is needed after being released. In Berlin, the conservationist highlighted the mental benefit of urban residents being able to spot a hunter as elusive as the goshawk while they go about their daily routines, rather than locating rewilding schemes exclusively in countryside areas.

"It will bring such thrill," he declared. "People visit the park to feed birds. Soon they'll be traveling to see hawks."