As I was walking through the Tiergarten on my way to the store this morning, I noticed some bloody feathers in the snow. On looking up, I saw a Northern Goshawk (Habicht) high in an oak tree, eating.

There seemed to be a hollow in the top of the bough that she was using as a dinner bowl. (I’ll assume the hawk is female, as this one was very large, and female hawks are much larger than males. I don’t know for sure however.) She was eating very intently, and quickly, but upon seeing me she let out a few cries that were answered by an unseen hawk nearby. I was able to record some of her cries. They are available here and here. I also noticed that she was tagged with a ring on her leg, but she was too far away for me to read it.

Grey and black feathers were strewn all over the area. I believe they are pigeon feathers, but they could also be from a hooded crow. These birds are known to chase and kill prey much larger than themselves, such as mallards or geese. But twice in the past two weeks I have seen a Goshawk being mobbed by hooded crows. The crows surround the hawk and chase it wildly through the sky, cawing madly and making a terrifying scene.

Goshawks are known to be quite “wild”, usually avoiding populated areas. But Berlin has recently seen a resurgence in their population, and I have seen a number of them now in the city. Lately, on sunny mornings, I hear them crying to each other from high above the Tiergarten. It is an eerie sound to wake up to first thing in the morning.