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Releasing swift keck-keck-keck calls that echoed through a central Berlin park, the goshawks soared far over the canopy and circled before plunging down to scatter a ragged flock of crows that had started to harass them.

"It's basically a soaring Batman enforcing law and order to the city," remarked a wildlife expert, watching the sizable pale-bellied birds through a telescope. "They are like stealth bombers."

The goshawk is an apex predator – and experts hope it will soon bring awe and joy to British cities, following its presence in European metropolises. In the United Kingdom, this fast-moving bird of prey was persecuted to near disappearance and only began to bounce back in rural regions during the mid-20th century. It remains commonly persecuted on private lands and hunting grounds.

Flourishing in European Capitals

In other parts of the continent, the northern goshawk is thriving – even in bustling capitals such as Berlin, the Dutch capital, and Prague. From a park in Berlin, where a large eyrie 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 rests on rooftops.

The birds have adjusted to heavy traffic – while high glass buildings still present a danger – and are far more at ease with the constant flow of dogwalkers, runners, and schoolchildren than their woodland counterparts would be with people.

"It is similar to any green space in the United Kingdom, that's the amazing aspect," said the head of a conservation project, which plans to bring these raptors to two UK cities in the first stage of a project introducing them to cities. "It demonstrates this can be accomplished swiftly – with little much fuss, but with so much excitement."

Assisted Colonisation Proposal

The conservationist is planning to submit a proposal for the "assisted colonisation" of the goshawk to the authorities in the near future; the plan envisions the freeing of 15 birds in each of the selected urban areas, sourced as juveniles from natural continental nests and British breeders.

He hopes they will provide help of Britain's beleaguered songbirds by preying on mid-sized predators such as crows, black-and-white birds, and small crows, whose populations have increased without control and endangered birds further down the food chain.

Their arrival should have an immediate effect on the "brazen" mid-sized birds that attack smaller ones that people adore, says the scientist, pointing to a similar phenomenon documented in canine predators. "This is what's called an ecology of fear. Everybody knows the big guys are in the city."

Possible Challenges and Dangers

Conservation efforts across the continent have encountered strong opposition from agricultural workers and political factions in recent years, as large predators such as wild canines and bears have returned to territories now inhabited by humans. As their numbers have grown, they have started to eat livestock and in certain instances confront individuals.

The introduction of the raptor into urban Britain is not expected to spark a comparable resistance – the species already live in different parts of the nation, and pet-owners and city residents have little to worry about from them – but the species has caused tensions even in urban centers it has inhabited for years.

In the German capital, where an estimated 100 breeding pairs represent the highest-known concentration in the globe, and other German cities, these hawks have become the focus of pigeon and chicken breeders whose animals are being eaten.

A scientist who has studied goshawk adjustment to urban settings employed GPS trackers to monitor 60 goshawks as part of her doctorate, and states that although there could be possible advantages from employing goshawks to control mid-level predators in British cities, young birds taken from rural nests may struggle to adjust to urban life and emphasized the need to involve all stakeholders from the start. "In general, it's a hazardous endeavour."

Scientific Views

An ornithologist who has examined goshawk behavior in rural Britain commented it was uncertain if the birds would choose to stay in cities and unlikely that the proposed numbers would be enough to have a noticeable positive impact on backyard species numbers. "What is the fate of those 15 birds?" he said. "I suspect is they'll probably disperse into the nearest rural areas."

The conservationist is nevertheless optimistic about the initiative's chances. The expert, who has previously been awarded a licence to track the Highland tiger and was a technical adviser for a program that reintroduced the large bird back to the UK, argues that handling releases in a "welfare-based manner" is the key to success.

Previous Reintroduction Attempts

The conservationist's initial attempt to reintroduce lynx to the United Kingdom was rejected by the government secretary on the advice of the wildlife agency in 2018. A preliminary proposal for a trial release has also faced resistance, although the head of the environmental organization lately showed enthusiasm about the prospect of reintroducing the feline predator during his two-year term.

If the goshawk project proceeds, the raptors will be fitted with GPS transmitters – an endeavour projected to account for almost 50% of the estimated budget of £110,000 – and be given a regular supply of food for as long as is needed after being released. In the German city, the conservationist stressed the mental advantage of urban residents being able to spot a hunter as secretive as the goshawk while they conduct their daily routines, rather than locating rewilding schemes only in countryside areas.

"It will inject such thrill," he said. "Individuals visit the green space to give food to pigeons. In the future they'll be going to see goshawks."