The German capital's City Hawks: A Model for British Urban Areas?

Producing quick keck-keck-keck sounds that resounded across a central Berlin green space, the large hawks soared high over the canopy and circled before plunging downwards to scatter a disorganized group of black birds that had begun to harass them.

"It's essentially a soaring Batman enforcing justice to the urban environment," stated a wildlife expert, watching the sizable light-breasted birds through a telescope. "They're akin to stealth bombers."

The Accipiter gentilis is an top predator – and experts hope it will soon bring wonder and delight to UK cities, mirroring its presence in European metropolises. In the United Kingdom, this fast-moving bird of prey was hunted to virtual disappearance and only began to bounce back in countryside regions during the 1960s. It is still commonly targeted on private lands and grouse moors.

Flourishing in Continental Cities

In other parts of Europe, the goshawk is doing well – even in bustling capitals such as Berlin, Amsterdam, and the Czech capital. From a park in the city, where a sizable eyrie rested in the top of a tree less than 100 metres from a war memorial, the "phantom of the forest" preys on city birds in the streets and even rests on building tops.

The raptors have adjusted to busy vehicle flow – while tall glass buildings still pose a threat – and are much more at ease with the steady stream 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 amazing aspect," said the director of a rewilding initiative, which plans to bring these raptors to Chester and London in the initial phase of a program introducing them to cities. "It proves this can be done swiftly – with little difficulty, but with great excitement."

Assisted Colonisation Plan

The conservationist is preparing to submit a application for the "assisted colonisation" of the northern goshawk to the authorities in the coming weeks; the plan envisions the freeing of 15 birds in each of the two cities, obtained as juveniles from wild European nests and British breeders.

He expects they will provide help of the UK's struggling garden birds by hunting mesopredators such as corvids, magpies, and small crows, whose populations have increased unchecked and threatened birds further down the food chain.

Their arrival should have an immediate effect on the "bold" mid-sized birds that prey on tiny species that the public love, explains the scientist, pointing to a comparable effect documented in wolves. "It's what's known as an landscape of fear. Everyone realizes the apex predators are in town."

Potential Hurdles and Risks

Rewilding projects across Europe have encountered strong opposition from farmers and political groups in the past decade, as big predators such as wolves and ursines have come back to lands now inhabited by people. As their numbers have grown, they have started to eat livestock and in some cases confront individuals.

The introduction of the goshawk into city Britain is not expected to spark a comparable backlash – the birds currently reside in other parts of the nation, and animal guardians and urban gardeners have minimal to fear from them – but the species has created tensions even in urban centers it has inhabited for years.

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

A scientist who has researched raptor adjustment to city settings employed GPS trackers to monitor 60 birds as part of her PhD, and says that although there could be potential advantages from employing these predators to regulate mesopredators in UK cities, young birds taken from rural nests may find it hard to adapt to urban life and stressed the importance to include all stakeholders early on. "In general, it's a hazardous business."

Expert Opinions

An ornithologist who has examined goshawk behaviour in rural England commented it was unclear if the birds would decide to stay in cities and improbable that the suggested quantity would be sufficient to have a noticeable beneficial impact on garden bird populations. "What is the fate of those 15 birds?" he asked. "I suspect is they'll likely disperse into the nearest countryside."

The conservationist is nonetheless upbeat about the project's chances. The specialist, who has in the past been granted a licence to track the Scottish wildcat and was a scientific adviser for a project that brought the great bustard back to the UK, contends that approaching releases in a "humane way" is the essential element to achievement.

Past Reintroduction Efforts

The conservationist's initial effort to reintroduce wild cats to the UK was rejected by the environment secretary on the recommendation of the nature body in 2018. A draft application for a test release has also met opposition, even though the chair of the environmental body recently expressed interest about the idea of reintroducing the feline predator during his two-year term.

If the goshawk initiative proceeds, the raptors will be equipped with GPS devices – an task expected to represent almost half of the estimated project cost of £110,000 – and be provided a regular supply of nourishment for as much as is needed after being released. In the German city, the conservationist highlighted the mental advantage of urban residents being able to spot a hunter as elusive as the goshawk while they go about their lives, rather than locating rewilding projects exclusively in countryside locations.

"It will bring such excitement," he declared. "Individuals go to the park to give food to pigeons. Soon they'll be traveling to see goshawks."