Releasing swift keck-keck-keck cries that rang out through a central Berlin park, the large hawks soared far above the canopy and circled before swooping down to drive away a ragged group of crows that had begun to mob them.
"They are essentially a soaring superhero bringing law and order to the urban environment," stated a conservationist, observing the sizable pale-bellied birds through a telescope. "They're akin to stealth bombers."
The Accipiter gentilis is an apex predator – and conservationists aspire it will soon deliver wonder and joy to British cities, following its success in European metropolises. In the UK, this swift raptor was persecuted to virtual disappearance and only started to recover in countryside regions during the 1960s. It remains commonly targeted on shooting estates and grouse moors.
Flourishing in Continental Cities
In different parts of Europe, the goshawk is thriving – even in busy cities such as Berlin, the Dutch capital, and Prague. From a park in the city, where a large eyrie sat in the crown of a tree less than 100 metres from a war memorial, the elusive hunter preys on city birds in the streets and even rests on rooftops.
The birds have adapted to busy vehicle flow – while tall glass buildings still pose a danger – and are much more comfortable with the constant flow of dogwalkers, runners, and kids than their forest-dwelling relatives would be with humans.
"It is similar to any park in the United Kingdom, that's the magical aspect," commented the head of a conservation initiative, which plans to introduce goshawks to Chester and London in the initial phase of a project introducing them to urban environments. "It proves this can be done swiftly – with little much fuss, but with so much excitement."
Assisted Colonisation Plan
The conservationist is planning to present a application for the "assisted colonisation" of the northern goshawk to the regulator in the near future; the plan foresees the freeing of 15 birds in both of the selected urban areas, obtained as juveniles from wild European eyries and UK aviaries.
He expects they will provide help of Britain's struggling songbirds by preying on mid-sized predators such as crows, magpies, and small crows, whose populations have grown without control and threatened birds further down the ecological pyramid.
Their arrival should have an instant impact on the "brazen" medium-sized birds that attack tiny species that people adore, explains the scientist, referencing a similar effect documented in canine predators. "This is what's called an landscape of fear. Everyone realizes the apex predators are in town."
Possible Challenges and Dangers
Rewilding efforts across the continent have encountered fierce opposition from farmers and political groups in the past decade, as large carnivores such as wild canines and ursines have come back to territories now populated 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 urban England is unlikely to trigger a similar backlash – the species already reside in other parts of the nation, and pet-owners and urban gardeners have little to worry about from them – but the species has caused conflicts even in cities it has inhabited for years.
In the German capital, where an estimated 100 breeding pairs represent the largest density in the world, and other European cities, goshawks have turned into the target of bird fanciers whose birds are being consumed.
A researcher who has studied raptor adjustment to urban settings employed GPS trackers to follow 60 birds as part of her PhD, and states that while there could be possible benefits from employing goshawks to regulate mesopredators in UK cities, young birds taken from rural nests may struggle to adjust to urban life and stressed the importance to involve all stakeholders early on. "Overall, it's a risky endeavour."
Scientific Opinions
An ecologist who has examined hawk behavior in rural Britain said it was unclear if the raptors would choose to remain in urban environments and unlikely that the suggested numbers would be enough to have a noticeable beneficial impact on garden bird numbers. "What is the fate of those 15 birds?" he asked. "I suspect is they'll likely scatter into the closest countryside."
The conservationist is nonetheless optimistic about the project's prospects. The expert, who has previously been granted a licence to tag the Highland tiger and was a scientific adviser for a program that brought the large bird back to the United Kingdom, contends that approaching reintroductions in a "humane way" is the essential element to success.
Previous Reintroduction Attempts
The expert's first effort 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 draft application for a test reintroduction has also faced opposition, even though the head of the environmental organization lately showed interest about the prospect of releasing lynx during his two-year term.
If the goshawk project goes ahead, the raptors will be fitted with GPS transmitters – an endeavour expected to represent almost half of the estimated budget of £110,000 – and be given a regular supply of food for as long as is required after being freed. In Berlin, the expert highlighted the psychological advantage of urban residents being able to observe a predator as secretive as the raptor while they conduct their daily routines, rather than placing rewilding projects exclusively in rural areas.
"It'll inject such excitement," he said. "Individuals visit the park to give food to birds. Soon they'll be traveling to see goshawks."
