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Birdwatching: New research by the British Trust for Ornithology reveals how Goshawks are gradually spreading and adapting to new habitats

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26 March 2025
By Sarah Hagen

Goshawk by Chris Knights / BTO

Once a dominant presence in British forests, the formidable Goshawk faced near extinction in the UK by the early 1900s. However, a few resilient individuals managed to survive despite widespread deforestation and relentless persecution. Their struggle was further exacerbated in the mid-20th century by the devastating effects of the pesticide DDT, which took a heavy toll on birds of prey. Following the ban on this toxic chemical, Goshawk populations have gradually rebounded, alongside other raptors, despite ongoing threats from egg collectors, falconers, and gamekeepers.

Today, although far from common, Goshawks are showing signs of continued population growth and range expansion and are now thought to number around 1,200 pairs across the UK. To better understand the dispersal and habits of young birds in their first winter, researchers at BTO carried out studies in two contrasting areas of lowland England: Norfolk/Suffolk and Gloucestershire.

Scientists attached state-of-the-art tracking devices to 29 individual Goshawk chicks at their nests, under special license. This allowed the researchers to map the movements of the juvenile birds as they headed out into the world after fledging. Would the youngsters move large distances in search of suitable woodland habitats, similar to where they had been raised, but uninhabited by other Goshawks? Or might they simply go the shortest distance from the nest site that would take them outside of their parents’ territory? Or would they do something else altogether?

Remarkably, having left their nest area, most of the fledged hawks moved a similar distance of around 10 km, to spend their first winter as independent birds. Each young Goshawk, on average, then established a winter home range of just under 5 km by 5 km. One major difference between adults and first year birds was the use of habitat.

Whereas adults and juvenile females were mainly associated with dense forest-dominated environments, the smaller males showed a preference for much more open farmland landscapes, interspersed with blocks of tree cover. This may be related to the different prey types and hunting styles use by the differently sized birds, with more open habitats providing a greater density of the small to medium sized birds, favoured as food by the males.

After the first complete year, young Goshawks matured and became inclined back towards denser forests where they would establish territories, like their parents, all year round.

Given the slow pace at which the species is increasing across the UK, and the relatively short dispersal distances covered by young birds, it may be some time before we see Goshawks nesting in urban parks, as they do in several other European countries.

Ian Henderson, Senior Research Ecologist at BTO, says: "The tracking devices really helped underline the adaptability of this species to use habitats outside the expected large forests, suggesting that range expansion is highly probable. With reduced persecution and continued access to key prey such as Grey Squirrel and Woodpigeon, the future of these dynamic hunters as breeding British birds looks assured."

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