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Producing rapid keck-keck-keck cries that resounded across a downtown Berlin green space, the goshawks soared far over the treetops and circled before plunging downwards to chase off a ragged group of black birds that had started to harass them.

"It's basically a flying superhero bringing justice to the city," remarked a wildlife expert, watching the large light-breasted birds through binoculars. "They're akin to fighter jets."

The goshawk is an apex predator – and experts aspire it will soon bring awe and joy to UK cities, mirroring its success in European metropolises. In the UK, this fast-moving bird of prey was hunted to near disappearance and just began to bounce back in rural areas during the 1960s. It remains widely persecuted on shooting estates and hunting grounds.

Thriving in European Cities

In other parts of the continent, the goshawk is thriving – even in bustling cities such as the German capital, Amsterdam, and the Czech capital. 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" hunts city birds in the streets and even rests on building tops.

The raptors have adapted to heavy vehicle flow – although high glass buildings still pose a threat – and are much more comfortable with the steady stream of pet owners, joggers, and kids than their forest-dwelling counterparts would be with humans.

"This is just like any green space in the United Kingdom, that's the magical thing," commented the director of a conservation project, which plans to introduce these raptors to two UK cities in the initial phase of a program reintroducing them to urban environments. "It demonstrates this can be done swiftly – with little difficulty, but with so much excitement."

Urban Reintroduction Plan

The expert is planning to submit a application for the "urban reintroduction" of the goshawk to the authorities in the near future; the plan envisions the release of 15 birds in each of the selected urban areas, sourced as juveniles from natural European nests and British aviaries.

He expects they will provide help of Britain's beleaguered songbirds by hunting mesopredators such as corvids, magpies, and small crows, whose numbers have grown unchecked and endangered birds further down the ecological pyramid.

Their presence should have an immediate effect on the "brazen" medium-sized birds that attack smaller ones that people adore, says the conservationist, pointing to a comparable effect documented in wolves. "It's what's known as an landscape of fear. Everyone knows the apex predators are in the city."

Possible Hurdles and Dangers

Conservation efforts across Europe have encountered fierce opposition from farmers and activist groups in the past decade, as big predators such as wild canines and bears have returned to lands now inhabited by people. As their numbers have expanded, they have started to consume farm animals and in some cases confront individuals.

The reintroduction of the raptor into city Britain is not expected to spark a comparable resistance – the species currently reside in other parts of the country, and pet-owners and urban gardeners have little to fear from them – but the bird has created conflicts even in cities it has long called home.

In the German capital, where an estimated 100 breeding pairs represent the highest-known density in the globe, and other European cities, these hawks have turned into the target of bird fanciers whose animals are being consumed.

A scientist who has researched raptor adaptation to city settings employed GPS trackers to monitor 60 birds as part of her PhD, and says that although there could be potential benefits from using these predators to control mesopredators in UK urban areas, young birds taken from rural homes may struggle to adapt to urban life and stressed the need to include all interested parties from the start. "Overall, it's a hazardous business."

Scientific Views

An ornithologist who has studied goshawk behaviour in non-urban Britain said it was uncertain if the raptors would decide to remain in urban environments and improbable that the suggested quantity would be enough to have a significant positive impact on garden bird populations. "What will happen of those 15 birds?" he asked. "I suspect is they'll probably disperse into the closest rural areas."

The conservationist is nevertheless optimistic about the project's prospects. The specialist, who has in the past been awarded a licence to tag the Scottish wildcat and was a technical consultant for a project that reintroduced the large bird back to the United Kingdom, contends that approaching releases in a "humane way" is the key to success.

Past Rewilding Attempts

The expert's initial effort to reintroduce wild cats to the United Kingdom was refused by the environment secretary on the advice of the nature agency in recent years. A draft application for a test reintroduction has also faced opposition, although the chair of the nature body recently expressed enthusiasm about the prospect of releasing lynx during his two-year term.

If the hawk project goes ahead, the raptors will be fitted with GPS transmitters – an task projected to account for almost 50% of the projected project cost of £110,000 – and be provided a regular source of food for as much as is needed after being released. In the German city, the expert highlighted the psychological advantage of urban residents being able to observe a predator as elusive as the raptor while they go about their daily routines, rather than placing rewilding projects exclusively in rural areas.

"It will bring such excitement," he said. "Individuals go to the park to give food to birds. Soon they'll be going to see hawks."