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Producing quick keck-keck-keck calls that rang out across a central Berlin green space, the large hawks climbed far over the treetops and circled before diving downwards to drive away a disorganized group of crows that had begun to mob them.

"It's basically a soaring Batman bringing law and order to the city," remarked a wildlife expert, observing the large light-breasted birds through binoculars. "They're akin to fighter jets."

The Accipiter gentilis is an apex predator – and experts hope it will soon bring wonder and joy to UK cities, following its presence in German urban areas. In the United Kingdom, this fast-moving bird of prey was hunted to virtual extinction and only began to recover in rural areas during the mid-20th century. It remains widely persecuted on private lands and hunting grounds.

Flourishing in European Cities

In other parts of the continent, the northern goshawk is doing well – even in busy cities such as Berlin, the Dutch capital, and Prague. From a public garden in the city, where a sizable eyrie sat in the crown of a tree less than 100 metres from a war memorial, the elusive hunter hunts city birds in the roads and even rests on rooftops.

The birds have adjusted to heavy traffic – although high glass buildings still present a danger – and are much more at ease with the constant flow of pet owners, joggers, and kids than their forest-dwelling relatives would be with humans.

"It is just like any green space in the UK, that's the magical thing," said the director of a conservation project, which aims to bring goshawks to two UK cities in the initial phase of a project introducing them to cities. "It proves this can be accomplished quickly – with little much fuss, but with so much enthusiasm."

Urban Reintroduction Proposal

The expert is planning to present a application for the "assisted colonisation" of the goshawk to the authorities in the coming weeks; the scheme envisions the freeing of 15 birds in both of the two cities, obtained as juveniles from natural continental eyries and UK breeders.

He expects they will provide help of Britain's beleaguered songbirds by preying on mesopredators such as crows, magpies, and small crows, whose populations have grown without control and threatened birds further down the ecological pyramid.

Their presence should have an immediate impact on the "brazen" medium-sized birds that prey on tiny species that people adore, says the scientist, referencing a similar effect documented in wolves. "This is what's known as an ecology of fear. Everyone realizes the apex predators are in the city."

Potential Hurdles and Dangers

Conservation projects throughout the continent have encountered fierce opposition from farmers and activist groups in recent years, as big carnivores such as wild canines and bears have come back to lands now populated by humans. As their numbers have expanded, they have begun to consume livestock and in some cases attack individuals.

The reintroduction of the raptor into city England is not expected to spark a similar backlash – the species already live in other parts of the nation, and animal guardians and city residents have little to fear from them – but the bird has created tensions even in cities it has inhabited for years.

In the German capital, where an approximate 100 breeding pairs constitute the highest-known density in the globe, and other German towns, goshawks have turned into the focus of bird fanciers whose animals are being eaten.

A researcher who has studied goshawk adjustment to urban settings used GPS trackers to follow 60 goshawks as part of her PhD, and says that although there could be potential benefits from employing goshawks to control mid-level predators in British cities, young birds removed from countryside nests may struggle to adjust to urban life and emphasized the importance to involve all stakeholders from the start. "Overall, it's a risky endeavour."

Expert Opinions

An ecologist who has examined hawk behavior in non-urban England commented it was unclear if the raptors would choose to stay in cities and improbable that the proposed numbers would be sufficient to have a noticeable beneficial effect on backyard species numbers. "What will happen of those 15 birds?" he said. "I suspect is they'll likely scatter into the closest rural areas."

The project leader is nonetheless optimistic about the project's chances. The specialist, who has in the past been granted a permit to track the Scottish wildcat and was a technical adviser for a project that reintroduced the great bustard back to the United Kingdom, contends that handling reintroductions in a "humane way" is the key to success.

Previous Rewilding Efforts

The expert's first attempt to bring back lynx to the UK was refused by the government secretary on the advice of the wildlife body in recent years. A draft application for a test release has also faced opposition, even though the chair of the environmental body lately showed interest about the idea of releasing the feline predator during his 24-month tenure.

If the hawk initiative goes ahead, the raptors will be fitted with GPS devices – an endeavour projected to account for almost 50% of the estimated budget of £110,000 – and be provided a steady supply of nourishment for as much as is required after being released. In the German city, the expert stressed the mental benefit of city-dwellers being able to observe a hunter as secretive as the goshawk while they go about their daily routines, rather than locating conservation schemes exclusively in rural locations.

"It will bring such thrill," he declared. "Individuals visit the park to feed pigeons. In the future they'll be going to see hawks."