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Releasing swift keck-keck-keck calls that rang out through a downtown Berlin green space, the large hawks climbed high over the canopy and circled before swooping downwards to drive away a disorganized group of black birds that had started to harass them.

"They are basically a flying Batman enforcing justice to the urban environment," remarked a wildlife expert, observing the sizable light-breasted birds through binoculars. "They are like stealth bombers."

The goshawk is an top predator – and experts aspire it will soon deliver awe and joy to British cities, mirroring its success in German urban areas. In the UK, this fast-moving bird of prey was hunted to near extinction and just started to recover in rural areas during the 1960s. It is still widely persecuted on private lands and grouse moors.

Flourishing in Continental Capitals

In other parts of the continent, the northern goshawk is thriving – even in bustling cities such as Berlin, the Dutch capital, and Prague. From a public garden in Berlin, where a sizable nest sat in the crown of a tree less than 100 metres from a monument, the elusive hunter hunts pigeons in the roads and even rests on rooftops.

The raptors have adjusted to busy vehicle flow – although high transparent structures still present a threat – and are much more at ease with the steady stream of dogwalkers, joggers, and kids than their woodland counterparts would be with humans.

"It is just like any green space in the UK, that's the magical aspect," said the director of a conservation initiative, which plans to introduce these raptors to Chester and London in the initial phase of a program introducing them to urban environments. "It demonstrates this can be done swiftly – without difficulty, but with so much enthusiasm."

Urban Reintroduction Proposal

The expert is preparing to submit a proposal for the "urban reintroduction" of the northern goshawk to the regulator in the coming weeks; the plan foresees the release of 15 birds in each of the two cities, sourced as juveniles from natural European nests and UK breeders.

He expects they will come to the rescue of the UK's beleaguered garden birds by hunting mesopredators such as crows, magpies, and jackdaws, whose populations have grown unchecked and threatened birds further down the food chain.

Their presence should have an instant impact on the "bold" medium-sized birds that attack tiny species that the public adore, says the conservationist, referencing a comparable phenomenon documented in canine predators. "This is what's known as an ecology of fear. Everyone knows the big guys are in town."

Potential Challenges and Dangers

Conservation efforts throughout Europe have faced strong opposition from farmers and activist factions in the past decade, as large carnivores such as wild canines and ursines have returned to lands now populated by people. As their populations have grown, they have begun to consume livestock and in certain instances attack humans.

The reintroduction of the raptor into urban England is not expected to trigger a comparable resistance – the species already live in other parts of the nation, and animal guardians and city residents have minimal to fear from them – but the bird has caused conflicts even in cities it has long called home.

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

A scientist who has researched goshawk adaptation to city environments employed GPS trackers to monitor 60 birds as part of her PhD, and says that while there could be potential advantages from using these predators to regulate mid-level predators in UK cities, young birds removed from rural nests may struggle to adapt to city life and emphasized the importance to involve all interested parties early on. "Overall, it's a risky endeavour."

Expert Opinions

An ornithologist who has examined hawk behaviour in rural England commented it was unclear if the birds would choose to remain in urban environments and improbable that the suggested numbers would be enough to have a noticeable beneficial effect on backyard species populations. "What is the fate of those 15 birds?" he asked. "I suspect is they'll probably scatter into the closest countryside."

The conservationist is nevertheless optimistic about the initiative's chances. The specialist, who has in the past been granted a licence to track the Scottish wildcat and was a scientific consultant for a program that reintroduced the large bird back to the United Kingdom, argues that handling reintroductions in a "welfare-based manner" is the essential element to achievement.

Past Rewilding Attempts

The conservationist's first effort to bring back lynx to the UK was refused by the environment official on the recommendation of the nature agency in recent years. A draft application for a trial reintroduction has also faced opposition, although the chair of the nature organization lately showed interest about the prospect of reintroducing the feline predator during his 24-month term.

If the hawk project proceeds, the raptors will be equipped with GPS devices – an task projected to represent almost half of the projected budget of £110,000 – and be provided a regular supply of nourishment for as much as is needed after being freed. In Berlin, the conservationist highlighted the mental benefit of city-dwellers being able to observe a hunter as elusive as the raptor while they go about their lives, rather than locating rewilding schemes only in countryside areas.

"It will inject such thrill," he said. "People go to the green space to give food to pigeons. In the future they'll be traveling to see hawks."