🔗 Share this article The German capital's City Goshawks: A Blueprint for UK Cities? Emitting swift keck-keck-keck calls that rang out across a central Berlin green space, the goshawks soared far above the canopy and circled before diving downwards to chase off a disorganized group of crows that had begun to mob them. "It's basically a flying Batman bringing justice to the urban environment," remarked a conservationist, observing the large pale-bellied birds through a telescope. "They are akin to fighter jets." The goshawk is an apex predator – and conservationists aspire it will soon bring wonder and joy to British cities, following its success in European urban areas. In the UK, this fast-moving bird of prey was hunted to virtual disappearance and only began to recover in countryside regions during the 1960s. It remains widely targeted on shooting estates and hunting grounds. Flourishing in Continental Cities In different parts of Europe, the 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 rested in the crown of a tree under 100 metres from a war memorial, the elusive hunter hunts city birds in the roads and even rests on rooftops. The raptors have adapted to busy vehicle flow – while high glass buildings still pose a threat – and are far more comfortable with the constant flow of pet owners, runners, and schoolchildren than their forest-dwelling relatives would be with humans. "It is just like any green space in the United Kingdom, that's the magical aspect," commented the head of a rewilding project, which aims to introduce goshawks to two UK cities in the initial phase of a program reintroducing them to urban environments. "It demonstrates this can be done quickly – without difficulty, but with great enthusiasm." Urban Reintroduction Proposal The conservationist is preparing to submit a application for the "urban reintroduction" of the northern goshawk to the regulator in the near future; the scheme envisions the freeing of 15 birds in both of the selected urban areas, sourced as juveniles from wild continental nests and British aviaries. He expects they will come to the rescue of the UK's struggling songbirds by hunting mid-sized predators such as corvids, magpies, and small crows, whose numbers have increased without control and threatened birds further down the food chain. Their presence should have an immediate effect on the "brazen" medium-sized birds that attack smaller ones that people love, explains the conservationist, referencing a comparable phenomenon documented in canine predators. "This is what's known as an ecology of fear. Everybody realizes the big guys are in town." Potential Challenges and Dangers Rewilding projects throughout Europe have encountered strong resistance from agricultural workers and activist groups in the past decade, as large predators such as wolves and ursines have returned to territories now inhabited by people. As their populations have expanded, they have started to eat farm animals and in certain instances attack humans. The reintroduction of the raptor into city Britain is not expected to spark a similar resistance – the species currently live in other parts of the nation, and pet-owners and urban gardeners have little to fear from them – but the species has created tensions even in urban centers it has inhabited for years. In Berlin, where an estimated 100 mated couples constitute the largest density in the globe, and other German towns, these hawks have become the focus of bird fanciers whose animals are being eaten. A scientist who has studied goshawk adaptation to city environments employed GPS transmitters to follow 60 goshawks as part of her doctorate, and states that while there could be possible benefits from employing goshawks to regulate mid-level predators in UK urban areas, young birds taken from countryside homes may find it hard to adapt to urban life and emphasized the importance to involve all interested parties early on. "In general, it's a risky business." Expert Opinions An ecologist who has examined goshawk behavior in non-urban England said it was unclear if the raptors would decide to stay in cities and improbable that the suggested quantity would be sufficient to have a significant positive effect on garden bird numbers. "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 initiative's chances. The specialist, who has in the past been granted a permit to tag the Scottish wildcat and was a scientific consultant for a program that reintroduced the large bird back to the UK, argues that approaching releases in a "welfare-based manner" is the key to success. Previous Rewilding Efforts The conservationist's first effort to bring back lynx to the UK was refused by the government official on the recommendation of the wildlife agency in 2018. A preliminary application for a trial reintroduction has also met opposition, even though the chair of the environmental body lately expressed interest about the prospect of releasing lynx during his two-year tenure. If the goshawk initiative goes ahead, the birds will be fitted with GPS transmitters – an endeavour expected to represent almost half of the estimated project cost of £110,000 – and be provided a regular supply of food for as long as is needed after being freed. In the German city, the conservationist stressed the psychological advantage of city-dwellers being able to spot a hunter as elusive as the goshawk while they conduct their daily routines, rather than placing rewilding projects exclusively in rural areas. "It will bring such thrill," he said. "People go to the green space to give food to birds. Soon they'll be traveling to see hawks."