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Releasing rapid keck-keck-keck cries that echoed across a downtown Berlin park, the goshawks soared high over the treetops and wheeled before plunging downwards to scatter a disorganized group of crows that had started to harass them.

"It's essentially a flying Batman bringing law and order to the urban environment," remarked a conservationist, watching the large light-breasted birds through binoculars. "They are like fighter jets."

The Accipiter gentilis is an apex predator – and experts hope it will soon bring awe and joy to British cities, following its success in European urban areas. In the United Kingdom, this fast-moving bird of prey was persecuted to virtual disappearance and just started to bounce back in rural areas during the mid-20th century. It is still commonly targeted on private lands and hunting grounds.

Flourishing in European Cities

In other parts of the continent, the goshawk is thriving – even in bustling cities such as the German capital, Amsterdam, and Prague. From a park in Berlin, where a large eyrie sat in the crown of a tree less than 100 metres from a monument, the "phantom of the forest" preys on city birds in the streets and even perches on rooftops.

The raptors have adjusted to busy traffic – while high glass buildings still pose a threat – and are far more at ease with the constant flow of dogwalkers, runners, and schoolchildren than their forest-dwelling relatives would be with people.

"It is just like any green space in the UK, that's the amazing thing," commented the head of a conservation project, which aims to bring goshawks to Chester and London in the initial phase of a program reintroducing them to cities. "It demonstrates this can be done swiftly – without much fuss, but with so much excitement."

Urban Reintroduction Proposal

The expert is preparing to submit a proposal for the "urban reintroduction" of the northern goshawk to the regulator in the coming weeks; the plan foresees the release of 15 birds in both of the selected urban areas, obtained as juveniles from natural European nests and British aviaries.

He expects they will come to the rescue of the UK's beleaguered songbirds by hunting mesopredators such as crows, magpies, and jackdaws, whose numbers have increased without control and threatened birds lower on the ecological pyramid.

Their arrival should have an immediate impact on the "bold" mid-sized birds that prey on smaller ones that people adore, says the conservationist, pointing to a similar effect observed in wolves. "It's what's known as an landscape of fear. Everyone realizes the big guys are in town."

Possible Hurdles and Dangers

Conservation efforts throughout Europe have encountered fierce resistance from farmers and political groups in the past decade, as large predators such as wolves and bears have returned to lands now populated by people. As their populations have expanded, they have started to eat farm animals and in some cases attack humans.

The introduction of the goshawk into city Britain is unlikely to trigger a similar resistance – the species currently reside in other parts of the nation, and pet-owners and city residents have minimal to fear from them – but the bird has caused tensions even in cities it has long called home.

In Berlin, where an approximate 100 mated couples represent the largest concentration in the world, and other European cities, goshawks have become the focus of pigeon and chicken breeders whose animals are being eaten.

A researcher who has studied raptor adaptation to city settings employed GPS trackers to follow 60 birds as part of her PhD, and states that although there could be potential advantages from using goshawks to regulate mesopredators in British urban areas, chicks removed from countryside homes may find it hard to adjust to urban life and stressed the importance to involve all stakeholders early on. "In general, it's a risky business."

Scientific Opinions

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

The project leader is nonetheless optimistic about the initiative's prospects. The expert, who has previously been granted a licence to tag the Highland tiger and was a scientific adviser for a program that brought the great bustard back to the UK, argues that handling reintroductions in a "humane way" is the essential element to achievement.

Past Rewilding Attempts

The conservationist's first attempt to reintroduce wild cats to the UK was rejected by the government official on the advice of the nature body in recent years. A draft proposal for a trial reintroduction has also met opposition, even though the chair of the nature body lately expressed enthusiasm about the prospect of reintroducing lynx during his 24-month term.

If the hawk project goes ahead, the birds will be equipped with GPS devices – an endeavour projected to account for almost half of the projected project cost of £110,000 – and be given a steady source of nourishment for as long as is needed after being freed. 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 lives, rather than locating rewilding projects exclusively in countryside locations.

"It'll bring such excitement," he said. "People go to the park to give food to birds. In the future they'll be going to see goshawks."