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Releasing quick keck-keck-keck sounds that echoed across a central Berlin green space, the large hawks soared far above the canopy and wheeled before swooping downwards to chase off a ragged flock of crows that had begun to harass them.

"They are essentially a flying Batman enforcing law and order to the city," remarked a wildlife expert, observing the large light-breasted birds through binoculars. "They are like fighter jets."

The Accipiter gentilis is an top predator – and experts hope it will soon deliver wonder and delight to UK cities, mirroring its presence in German urban areas. In the UK, this fast-moving bird of prey was hunted to near extinction and just began to bounce back in countryside areas during the mid-20th century. It remains commonly persecuted on shooting estates and hunting grounds.

Flourishing in Continental Capitals

In other parts of the continent, the northern goshawk is doing well – even in busy capitals such as Berlin, Amsterdam, and the Czech capital. From a park in Berlin, where a sizable eyrie sat in the top of a tree less than 100 metres from a war memorial, the elusive hunter hunts city birds in the roads and even rests on building tops.

The raptors have adjusted to busy traffic – although 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 counterparts would be with humans.

"It is just like any green space in the United Kingdom, that's the magical aspect," commented the head of a conservation initiative, which plans to introduce these raptors to Chester and London in the initial phase of a program reintroducing them to urban environments. "It proves this can be accomplished quickly – with little difficulty, but with so much excitement."

Urban Reintroduction Plan

The conservationist is preparing to submit a application for the "assisted colonisation" of the goshawk to the authorities in the near future; the plan foresees the release of 15 birds in both of the selected urban areas, sourced as chicks from natural continental eyries and British aviaries.

He hopes they will provide help of Britain's beleaguered garden birds by hunting mesopredators such as crows, black-and-white birds, and small crows, whose populations have increased unchecked and threatened birds lower on the food chain.

Their arrival should have an immediate impact on the "brazen" mid-sized birds that attack smaller ones that the public adore, explains the conservationist, referencing a similar phenomenon documented in canine predators. "This is what's known as an ecology of fear. Everyone knows the big guys are in town."

Possible Challenges and Dangers

Rewilding efforts throughout Europe have faced strong opposition from farmers and political groups in the past decade, as large carnivores such as wild canines and ursines have come back to lands now inhabited by people. As their populations have expanded, they have started to eat livestock and in some cases confront humans.

The reintroduction of the goshawk into urban England is not expected to spark a similar resistance – the species already live in other parts of the nation, and pet-owners and city residents have minimal to worry about from them – but the bird has caused tensions even in cities it has inhabited for years.

In the German capital, where an estimated 100 mated couples constitute the largest density in the world, and other German cities, goshawks have turned into the focus of bird fanciers whose animals are being eaten.

A researcher who has studied raptor adaptation to urban environments used GPS trackers to follow 60 goshawks as part of her PhD, and says that although there could be possible benefits from employing goshawks to regulate mesopredators in UK cities, chicks removed from rural nests may find it hard to adjust to city life and emphasized the importance to include all stakeholders from the start. "Overall, it's a risky endeavour."

Expert Views

An ecologist who has examined hawk behaviour in non-urban England said it was unclear if the raptors would choose to stay in cities and unlikely that the proposed quantity would be sufficient to have a significant beneficial effect on garden bird populations. "What will happen of those 15 birds?" he said. "I suspect is they'll probably disperse into the nearest countryside."

The conservationist is nonetheless optimistic about the project's chances. The specialist, who has in the past been granted a licence to tag the Scottish wildcat and was a scientific adviser for a project that brought the great bustard back to the United Kingdom, argues that handling reintroductions in a "welfare-based manner" is the key to success.

Previous Reintroduction Attempts

The conservationist's initial attempt to bring back wild cats to the UK was rejected by the government official on the recommendation of the nature agency in recent years. A preliminary application for a test reintroduction has also faced opposition, although the head of the environmental body lately expressed enthusiasm about the idea of reintroducing lynx during his 24-month term.

If the hawk initiative goes ahead, the raptors will be fitted with GPS transmitters – an task expected to account for almost half of the estimated project cost of £110,000 – and be provided a regular source of nourishment for as long as is required after being released. In the German city, the expert stressed the psychological benefit of city-dwellers being able to observe a hunter as elusive as the goshawk while they go about their lives, rather than locating rewilding projects only in rural locations.

"It will bring such thrill," he declared. "People visit the park to feed birds. Soon they'll be traveling to see hawks."