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Producing rapid keck-keck-keck calls that rang out across a downtown Berlin green space, the goshawks soared high above the treetops and wheeled before swooping downwards to drive away a disorganized group of crows that had begun to mob them.

"They are essentially a flying Batman enforcing justice to the city," remarked a conservationist, observing the sizable light-breasted birds through binoculars. "They are akin to stealth bombers."

The Accipiter gentilis is an top predator – and experts hope it will soon deliver wonder and joy to UK cities, mirroring its presence in German urban areas. In the UK, this fast-moving bird of prey was persecuted to near extinction and just began to recover in countryside areas during the 1960s. It is still widely persecuted on private lands and grouse moors.

Flourishing in European Cities

In different parts of the continent, the goshawk is doing well – even in bustling cities such as the German capital, the Dutch capital, and Prague. From a park in Berlin, where a large eyrie rested in the top of a tree under 100 metres from a monument, the "phantom of the forest" preys on city birds in the streets and even perches on building tops.

The raptors have adapted to heavy traffic – while high glass buildings still present a threat – and are far more comfortable with the constant flow of pet owners, joggers, and kids than their forest-dwelling relatives would be with people.

"This is just like any park in the UK, that's the amazing thing," said the director of a conservation initiative, which aims to bring goshawks to Chester and London in the initial phase of a project reintroducing them to urban environments. "It demonstrates this can be accomplished quickly – with little difficulty, but with so much enthusiasm."

Assisted Colonisation Proposal

The expert is planning to present a proposal for the "urban reintroduction" of the northern goshawk to the authorities in the near future; the scheme envisions the freeing of 15 birds in both of the selected urban areas, sourced as chicks from natural European eyries and British aviaries.

He expects they will provide help of Britain's beleaguered garden birds by preying on mesopredators such as corvids, black-and-white birds, and small crows, whose numbers have grown unchecked and endangered birds further down the ecological pyramid.

Their presence should have an instant impact on the "brazen" mid-sized birds that prey on tiny species that people love, says the scientist, pointing to a similar phenomenon documented in wolves. "This is what's known as an landscape of fear. Everyone knows the apex predators are in the city."

Possible Hurdles and Dangers

Rewilding efforts across the continent have encountered fierce resistance from farmers and activist groups in the past decade, as big predators such as wolves and bears have come back to lands now populated by humans. As their numbers have expanded, they have started to consume farm animals and in certain instances confront humans.

The introduction of the goshawk into city England is unlikely to trigger a comparable resistance – the species currently live in different parts of the nation, and animal guardians and urban gardeners have little to worry about from them – but the species has created conflicts even in urban centers it has inhabited for years.

In the German capital, where an estimated 100 breeding pairs constitute the largest 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 researcher who has studied goshawk adjustment to urban environments used GPS transmitters to follow 60 birds as part of her PhD, and states that although there could be possible advantages from using goshawks to regulate mesopredators in British cities, young birds removed from rural nests may struggle to adapt to urban life and emphasized the importance to include all stakeholders from the start. "Overall, it's a hazardous business."

Scientific Opinions

An ecologist who has studied goshawk behaviour in non-urban England said it was unclear if the birds would choose to remain in urban environments and improbable that the suggested quantity would be sufficient to have a significant positive impact on backyard species populations. "What is the fate of those 15 birds?" he asked. "My guess is they'll probably disperse into the nearest rural areas."

The project leader is nonetheless optimistic about the project's chances. The expert, who has previously been awarded a permit to tag the Highland tiger and was a scientific consultant for a project that reintroduced the great bustard back to the UK, contends that approaching releases in a "welfare-based manner" is the key to success.

Previous Rewilding Attempts

The conservationist's first attempt to bring back wild cats to the United Kingdom was refused by the environment official on the advice of the wildlife agency in recent years. A preliminary application for a test reintroduction has also faced opposition, although the chair of the nature organization lately expressed enthusiasm about the prospect of releasing lynx during his two-year tenure.

If the goshawk initiative proceeds, the raptors will be equipped with GPS transmitters – an endeavour projected to represent almost half of the estimated project cost of £110,000 – and be given a regular source of nourishment for as much as is needed after being released. In the German city, the expert stressed the psychological benefit of urban residents being able to observe a predator as secretive as the goshawk while they conduct their daily routines, rather than locating rewilding projects exclusively in countryside areas.

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