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Releasing rapid keck-keck-keck cries that echoed across a central Berlin green space, the goshawks soared high above the treetops and circled before diving down to chase off a ragged flock of black birds that had begun to mob them.

"They are basically a soaring Batman bringing justice to the city," remarked a wildlife expert, observing the sizable light-breasted birds through binoculars. "They are akin to fighter jets."

The Accipiter gentilis is an top predator – and experts hope it will soon bring awe and joy to British cities, mirroring its success in European urban areas. In the United Kingdom, this fast-moving raptor was persecuted to near disappearance and just started to bounce back in countryside regions during the 1960s. It remains commonly targeted 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 cities such as the German capital, the Dutch capital, and Prague. From a public garden in the city, where a sizable nest sat in the crown of a tree under 100 metres from a war memorial, the elusive hunter preys on city birds in the roads and even perches on building tops.

The raptors have adapted to heavy traffic – although high transparent structures still pose a threat – and are much more at ease with the steady stream of pet owners, runners, and kids than their forest-dwelling counterparts would be with humans.

"This is just like any green space in the UK, that's the amazing aspect," said the head of a conservation project, which plans to bring goshawks to Chester and London in the first stage of a project reintroducing them to cities. "It proves this can be accomplished swiftly – with little much fuss, but with so much excitement."

Assisted Colonisation Plan

The conservationist is planning 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 selected urban areas, sourced as juveniles from wild continental eyries and UK breeders.

He hopes they will provide help of Britain's struggling garden birds by preying on mid-sized predators such as crows, magpies, and jackdaws, whose numbers have grown unchecked and threatened birds further down the food chain.

Their presence should have an instant effect on the "brazen" medium-sized birds that prey on smaller ones that people love, says the conservationist, referencing a comparable phenomenon documented in canine predators. "It's what's called an landscape of fear. Everybody knows the big guys are in the city."

Potential Challenges and Risks

Conservation projects across the continent have faced strong resistance from agricultural workers and political factions in recent years, as large predators such as wild canines and ursines have come back to lands now populated by humans. As their numbers have grown, they have started to eat farm animals and in certain instances confront humans.

The introduction of the raptor into city England is not expected to trigger a comparable resistance – the birds already reside in other parts of the country, and pet-owners and city residents have little to fear from them – but the species has caused tensions even in urban centers it has long called home.

In the German capital, where an approximate 100 breeding pairs represent the largest concentration in the globe, and other German cities, these hawks have turned into the focus of bird fanciers whose birds are being eaten.

A scientist who has researched raptor adjustment to urban environments used GPS trackers to follow 60 goshawks as part of her doctorate, and states that although there could be possible benefits from employing goshawks to control mid-level predators in British cities, chicks removed from countryside nests may struggle to adapt to city life and stressed the importance to involve all interested parties early on. "Overall, it's a hazardous endeavour."

Scientific Views

An ornithologist who has studied goshawk behavior in rural Britain said it was uncertain if the birds would choose to remain in urban environments and improbable that the suggested quantity would be sufficient to have a significant beneficial effect on backyard species numbers. "What will happen of those 15 birds?" he asked. "My guess is they'll probably disperse into the nearest rural areas."

The project leader is nevertheless optimistic about the initiative's chances. The expert, who has in the past been granted a permit to track the Highland tiger and was a technical adviser for a project that reintroduced the large bird back to the UK, argues that handling reintroductions in a "humane way" is the essential element to achievement.

Previous Reintroduction Efforts

The conservationist's initial attempt to bring back lynx to the United Kingdom was rejected by the environment official on the recommendation of the nature agency in recent years. A draft application for a test reintroduction has also faced resistance, even though the head of the environmental body recently showed enthusiasm about the idea of releasing lynx during his two-year term.

If the goshawk initiative proceeds, the birds will be fitted with GPS devices – an task expected to represent almost half of the projected project cost of £110,000 – and be given a regular supply of food for as long as is needed after being freed. In the German city, the expert highlighted the mental advantage of city-dwellers being able to spot a hunter as elusive as the raptor while they conduct their daily routines, rather than placing conservation schemes exclusively in countryside areas.

"It will bring such excitement," he said. "Individuals visit the green space to feed pigeons. Soon they'll be traveling to see hawks."