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Producing rapid keck-keck-keck sounds that resounded through a central Berlin green space, the goshawks soared high above the treetops and circled before swooping downwards to chase off a disorganized group of crows that had begun to mob them.

"It's basically a flying superhero bringing law and order to the urban environment," stated a conservationist, watching the sizable pale-bellied birds through binoculars. "They're like stealth bombers."

The goshawk is an top predator – and experts hope it will soon bring awe and joy to British cities, following its presence in European urban areas. In the UK, this swift raptor was hunted to near extinction and only started to recover in countryside areas during the 1960s. It is still commonly targeted on shooting estates and hunting grounds.

Flourishing in European Capitals

In different parts of the continent, the goshawk is thriving – even in busy cities such as Berlin, the Dutch capital, and the Czech capital. From a public garden in the city, where a sizable eyrie rested in the crown of a tree under 100 metres from a war memorial, the "phantom of the forest" preys on city birds in the roads and even perches on rooftops.

The birds have adjusted to heavy traffic – although tall transparent structures still pose a danger – and are far more comfortable with the steady stream of pet owners, runners, and schoolchildren than their forest-dwelling relatives would be with humans.

"It is just like any park in the UK, that's the amazing aspect," said the head of a conservation initiative, which plans to bring these raptors to Chester and London in the first stage of a project introducing them to cities. "It proves this can be done quickly – without much fuss, but with great enthusiasm."

Assisted Colonisation Proposal

The conservationist is planning to present a proposal for the "urban reintroduction" of the goshawk to the regulator in the coming weeks; the plan envisions the freeing of 15 birds in each of the two cities, sourced as juveniles from natural European nests and British breeders.

He expects they will come to the rescue of Britain's beleaguered songbirds by hunting mesopredators such as crows, black-and-white birds, and jackdaws, whose populations have increased unchecked and endangered birds lower on the food chain.

Their arrival should have an instant effect on the "brazen" medium-sized birds that attack tiny species that the public love, explains the scientist, referencing a similar phenomenon documented in canine predators. "This is what's known as an landscape of fear. Everybody realizes the apex predators are in town."

Possible Challenges and Dangers

Conservation projects throughout the continent have faced fierce resistance from farmers and political factions in the past decade, as big carnivores such as wild canines and bears have come back to territories now populated by people. As their numbers have grown, they have started to consume farm animals and in certain instances attack individuals.

The introduction of the goshawk into urban England is unlikely to spark a similar resistance – the species currently reside in different parts of the nation, and pet-owners and urban gardeners have minimal to fear from them – but the species has created tensions even in cities it has long called home.

In Berlin, where an estimated 100 breeding pairs constitute the largest concentration in the world, and other European cities, goshawks have become the target of pigeon and chicken breeders whose animals are being consumed.

A researcher who has researched raptor adaptation to urban settings employed GPS trackers to follow 60 goshawks as part of her doctorate, and states that while there could be potential advantages from employing these predators to regulate mesopredators in UK urban areas, chicks taken from countryside nests may find it hard to adapt to urban life and emphasized the importance to include all interested parties from the start. "Overall, it's a risky business."

Expert Views

An ornithologist who has studied goshawk behavior in non-urban England said it was uncertain if the birds would choose to stay in cities and unlikely that the proposed quantity would be sufficient to have a noticeable beneficial effect on backyard species populations. "What is the fate of those 15 birds?" he asked. "I suspect is they'll probably scatter into the nearest countryside."

The conservationist is nonetheless upbeat about the initiative's chances. The expert, who has previously been granted a permit to tag the Highland tiger and was a scientific consultant for a program that reintroduced the great bustard back to the UK, argues that handling releases in a "welfare-based manner" is the key to achievement.

Past Rewilding Efforts

The conservationist's first effort to reintroduce lynx to the UK was refused by the environment official on the advice of the wildlife body in 2018. A preliminary application for a test reintroduction has also met resistance, although the chair of the nature organization recently showed interest about the idea of releasing lynx during his two-year tenure.

If the hawk project proceeds, the birds will be fitted with GPS devices – an task projected to represent almost 50% of the projected project cost of £110,000 – and be given a steady source of food for as much as is needed after being released. In Berlin, the expert highlighted the mental advantage of city-dwellers being able to spot a predator as elusive as the goshawk while they conduct their lives, rather than locating rewilding schemes exclusively in rural locations.

"It'll bring such thrill," he said. "People go to the green space to feed pigeons. In the future they'll be traveling to see goshawks."