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Releasing swift keck-keck-keck sounds that resounded across a downtown Berlin park, the goshawks climbed high over the canopy and circled before plunging down to chase off a ragged group of crows that had started to mob them.

"They are basically a soaring superhero enforcing law and order to the urban environment," remarked a conservationist, watching the sizable light-breasted birds through binoculars. "They're like fighter jets."

The goshawk is an apex predator – and conservationists hope it will soon bring awe and delight to British cities, following its presence in European urban areas. In the United Kingdom, this fast-moving bird of prey was hunted to near extinction and just began to bounce back in countryside areas during the 1960s. It remains widely persecuted on private lands and hunting grounds.

Thriving in Continental Capitals

In different parts of Europe, the goshawk is doing well – even in bustling capitals such as Berlin, the Dutch capital, and the Czech capital. From a park in Berlin, 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 adjusted to busy vehicle flow – while tall glass buildings still pose a threat – and are far more comfortable with the steady stream of dogwalkers, joggers, and schoolchildren than their woodland counterparts would be with people.

"It is similar to any green space in the United Kingdom, that's the magical aspect," said the director of a conservation project, which plans to bring goshawks to two UK cities in the initial phase of a program reintroducing them to cities. "It demonstrates this can be accomplished swiftly – with little much fuss, but with great excitement."

Assisted Colonisation Plan

The conservationist is preparing to submit a proposal for the "urban reintroduction" of the goshawk to the regulator in the coming weeks; the plan foresees the freeing of 15 birds in both of the two cities, obtained as chicks from natural continental eyries and British aviaries.

He expects they will provide help of Britain's beleaguered songbirds by hunting mid-sized predators such as corvids, black-and-white birds, and jackdaws, whose populations have increased without control and threatened birds further down the food chain.

Their presence should have an instant impact on the "bold" mid-sized birds that prey on tiny species that people adore, explains the conservationist, referencing a similar phenomenon observed in canine predators. "This is what's called an landscape of fear. Everyone knows the apex predators are in the city."

Possible Challenges and Risks

Rewilding projects throughout Europe have encountered strong opposition from farmers and political groups in recent years, as big predators such as wild canines and bears have come back to lands now inhabited by humans. As their numbers have grown, they have started to consume livestock and in certain instances confront individuals.

The reintroduction of the raptor into urban Britain is not expected to trigger a similar resistance – the birds already live in different parts of the nation, and pet-owners and city residents have little to worry about from them – but the bird has created conflicts even in urban centers it has long called home.

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

A scientist who has studied raptor adjustment to city environments employed GPS trackers to follow 60 birds as part of her doctorate, and says that although there could be possible advantages from using these predators to regulate mid-level predators in UK cities, young birds removed from rural nests may struggle to adapt to city life and stressed the need to include all interested parties early on. "In general, it's a risky endeavour."

Scientific Views

An ecologist who has studied hawk behaviour in non-urban Britain said it was unclear if the raptors would decide to remain in urban environments and unlikely that the proposed numbers would be enough to have a noticeable positive impact on garden bird populations. "What is the fate of those 15 birds?" he said. "My guess is they'll probably scatter into the nearest countryside."

The conservationist is nonetheless upbeat about the project's prospects. The specialist, who has previously been awarded a permit to track the Highland tiger and was a scientific adviser for a program that brought the great bustard back to the United Kingdom, contends that handling reintroductions in a "humane way" is the key to success.

Previous Rewilding Attempts

The expert's initial effort to bring back wild cats to the United Kingdom was refused by the environment official on the recommendation of the nature agency in recent years. A preliminary application for a trial reintroduction has also faced resistance, although the chair of the nature body recently expressed enthusiasm about the idea of releasing the feline predator during his two-year tenure.

If the hawk initiative proceeds, the birds will be fitted with GPS transmitters – an task projected to represent almost half of the projected budget of £110,000 – and be provided a regular supply of food for as much as is required after being released. In the German city, the conservationist stressed the mental advantage of city-dwellers being able to spot a hunter as elusive as the goshawk while they conduct their daily routines, rather than placing rewilding schemes exclusively in countryside areas.

"It will bring such excitement," he said. "People go to the green space to feed pigeons. Soon they'll be traveling to see hawks."