MAINE – A quiet backyard in Maine has turned into a front-row seat for nature’s drama this June, as one local birdwatcher documented an unexpected wave of activity unfolding right outside his own door, including a startling moment when a red-shouldered hawk swooped in and captured a recently fledged robin off the lawn.
Bob Duchesne, who writes the BDN outdoors column Good Birding, said the encounter happened just three days ago and caught both him and the robin completely off guard. He had heard the hawk calling two days earlier but assumed it had moved on, noting that in 26 years of living at the property, he had only seen red-shouldered hawks twice before, both times briefly during migration.
Three Active Nests on a Single House
The hawk sighting capped off an unusually active nesting season around the property. An eastern phoebe renested above the porch door, while two separate American robins built nests on opposite sides of the house at the same time, something Duchesne said he had never experienced before in over two decades at the home. The arrangement has made yard work tricky, with mowing now done in short bursts to give the nesting birds time to flush, return, and resume incubating between passes.
In hindsight, the second robin nest may have been a stroke of luck, given that the hawk ultimately targeted a fledgling from one of the nests rather than wiping out an entire brood in one strike.
Eagles, Loons, and a Mailbox-Loving Sapsucker
Beyond the nests, the yard has hosted a steady parade of wildlife throughout June. Bald eagles have been flying past for weeks on their way to feed on alewives returning to nearby Pushaw Lake, and a pair of young eagles from last year’s nest have taken to perching in the lakeside pines, occasionally chasing one another to steal a catch. The local loons, meanwhile, have made their displeasure with the increased eagle traffic well known, sounding alarms throughout what Duchesne described as an unusually noisy June.
Smaller birds have added their own quirks to the season. A yellow-bellied sapsucker has developed a habit of drumming on the metal mailbox with an irregular, winding-down pattern unlike typical sapsucker drumming. Chipping sparrows have been combing the lawn nonstop, chirping constantly while feeding young that hatched earlier than usual. Even a notoriously secretive black-billed cuckoo turned up unexpectedly, caught on video perched directly above the driveway among a group of red-eyed vireos, a sighting Duchesne only noticed after reviewing the footage later.
A Season of Staying Close to Home
Duchesne said the month has offered a reminder of how much wildlife activity can unfold without ever leaving the yard, describing an evolving relationship with the birds sharing his property. While still cautious around him, the nesting birds have grown accustomed to his presence, no longer flushing every time he steps outside. Stay updated for the latest news as this story develops.
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