The German capital's Urban Goshawks: A Blueprint for UK Cities?

Releasing rapid keck-keck-keck sounds that resounded through a central Berlin park, the large hawks soared high over the treetops and circled before swooping downwards to drive away a ragged flock of crows that had begun to mob them.

"It's basically a soaring superhero bringing law and order to the urban environment," remarked a wildlife expert, observing the sizable light-breasted birds through a telescope. "They are akin to stealth bombers."

The goshawk is an apex predator – and conservationists hope it will soon deliver wonder and joy to UK cities, mirroring its success in German metropolises. In the UK, this swift bird of prey was hunted to near extinction and only began to bounce back in rural areas during the mid-20th century. It is still widely targeted on private lands and hunting grounds.

Flourishing in European Cities

In other parts of the continent, the northern goshawk is thriving – even in busy capitals such as Berlin, Amsterdam, and the Czech capital. From a public garden in Berlin, where a sizable nest sat in the top of a tree under 100 metres from a monument, the elusive hunter preys on city birds in the streets and even rests on building tops.

The birds have adapted to busy vehicle flow – although tall transparent structures still present a danger – and are far more at ease with the steady stream of pet owners, runners, and schoolchildren than their woodland relatives would be with humans.

"This is similar to any green space in the United Kingdom, that's the amazing thing," commented the head of a conservation project, which aims to bring these raptors to two UK cities in the first stage of a program reintroducing them to urban environments. "It demonstrates this can be accomplished quickly – without difficulty, but with so much excitement."

Urban Reintroduction Proposal

The expert is planning to submit a proposal for the "assisted colonisation" of the northern goshawk to the authorities in the coming weeks; the scheme envisions the release of 15 birds in both of the two cities, obtained as juveniles from wild continental eyries and British aviaries.

He hopes they will come to the rescue of Britain's beleaguered songbirds by hunting mesopredators such as corvids, magpies, and small crows, whose numbers have increased unchecked and endangered birds further down the ecological pyramid.

Their arrival should have an instant effect on the "bold" medium-sized birds that attack tiny species that the public love, says the scientist, referencing a similar phenomenon observed in wolves. "This is what's called an landscape of fear. Everyone realizes the big guys are in town."

Possible Challenges and Dangers

Rewilding efforts across Europe have encountered fierce resistance from farmers and activist factions in the past decade, as large predators such as wild canines and ursines have come back to lands now inhabited by humans. As their populations have grown, they have begun to eat farm animals and in certain instances confront humans.

The introduction of the goshawk into urban England is unlikely to spark a similar backlash – the birds already live in different parts of the country, and pet-owners and urban gardeners have minimal to fear from them – but the species has created conflicts even in urban centers it has inhabited for years.

In Berlin, where an estimated 100 breeding pairs constitute the largest concentration in the globe, and additional European towns, goshawks have become the target of bird fanciers whose birds are being consumed.

A researcher who has researched raptor adaptation to city environments used GPS trackers to monitor 60 birds as part of her PhD, and states that although there could be potential advantages from using goshawks to regulate mesopredators in British urban areas, chicks taken from rural nests may struggle to adapt to urban life and emphasized the need to include all stakeholders early on. "In general, it's a risky endeavour."

Expert Views

An ornithologist who has studied goshawk behavior in non-urban Britain said it was unclear if the raptors would choose to remain in cities and improbable that the suggested quantity would be sufficient to have a significant beneficial impact on backyard species populations. "What is the fate of those 15 birds?" he said. "I suspect is they'll likely disperse into the nearest countryside."

The project leader is nonetheless optimistic about the project's prospects. The expert, who has in the past been granted a permit to track the Highland tiger and was a technical consultant for a program that reintroduced the large bird back to the United Kingdom, argues that approaching releases in a "humane way" is the key to achievement.

Past Reintroduction Attempts

The conservationist's first attempt to bring back lynx to the United Kingdom was rejected by the environment secretary on the advice of the nature agency in recent years. A preliminary proposal for a trial reintroduction has also faced opposition, although the head of the nature body lately expressed interest about the idea of releasing the feline predator during his two-year tenure.

If the hawk project goes ahead, the birds will be fitted with GPS devices – an task expected to account for almost half of the estimated project cost of £110,000 – and be given a steady source of food for as long as is required after being released. In Berlin, the expert highlighted the mental benefit of urban residents being able to observe a predator as elusive as the raptor while they go about their daily routines, rather than locating rewilding schemes exclusively in countryside areas.

"It will inject such excitement," he said. "People visit the green space to feed pigeons. Soon they'll be going to see goshawks."