Mike Saccone
Conservation advocate and amateur bird photographer. Ohioan by birth, Coloradan by choice, living near the nation’s capital.
No reuse or reference of photos without permission. DM me for prints. 📷
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- The humble song sparrow 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 250, f9, 1/1250s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- A dark-eyed junco in full-on borb mode 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600m (ISO 1100, f8, 1/1000s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- The unique chattering of the Eastern towhee is one of the delights of hiking in the backcountry. Often foraging in small groups, these large sparrows often lurk in the brush and undergrowth. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 1250, f9, 1/2500s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- A big leap for a small bird 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 1250, f9, 1/4000s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- This young Cooper's hawk was quietly watching a mixed flock foraging the fields of the McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area on a frigid and windy winter day. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 1250, f9, 1/4000s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- The red-breasted nuthatches have surged this year with many more showing up in the DC Metro Area than I have seen. This individual was one of two foraging around the Patuxent Research Refuge on a exceptionally cold afternoon. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 1250, f8, 1/1250s) 🪶
- The hermit thrush, normally a denizen of the undergrowth, dropped by the backyard on a frigid morning 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 2500, f7.1, 1/500s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- Keeping your feeders full when it's extremely cold is important, but so is having fresh water available. I set out a cake pan full of water and a flock of 30+ American robins quickly availed themselves of it. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 3200, f6.3, 1/500s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- A yellow-bellied sapsucker warming itself just after sunrise on the trunk of tulip poplar tree 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 280, f7.1, 1/800s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- A house finch glowing amid the snow 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 3600, f6.3, 1/640s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- Fun fact: If you add up all of the angles in a tufted titmouse's crest, you get infinite cool. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 800, f8, 1/2500s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- A white-throated sparrow fluffed up to endure the snow, cold, and sleet 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 3600, f6.3, 1/500s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- An inquisitive and chatty Carolina wren at Wheaton Regional Park 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- An Eastern towhee chattering away during a recent foray out of the undergrowth 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 3200, f7.1, 1/640s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- An American herring gull off the coast of Delaware 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 1800, f6, 1/2000s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- A backyard ruby-crowned kinglet that has been hanging around my suet feeder 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 2500, f6.3, 1/500s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- When a winter wrens wants to remain hidden, its camouflage is unmatched. This tiny bird, however, boasts quite the dynamic range and volume when it wants to be found. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 6400, f6.3, 1/800s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- An American herring gull diving in front of a container ship traveling southeast out of the Delaware Bay 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 3600, f6.3, 1/2500s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- A red-shouldered hawk taking in the scenes at Wheaton Regional Park 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 1800, f8, 1/800s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- One of several Northern gannet riding the stiff, cold winds near the breakers off Cape Henlopen 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 1400, f6, 1/2000s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- An extremely chill golden-crowned kinglet calmly foraging on a chainlink fence at Wheaton Regional Park on a frosty winter day. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- It’s easy to forget about me, a piece of bark come to life, perhaps a glimpse of white tuft tucked under. From Sierra Nelson's "From the Brown Creeper: Upward Spiral to the Canopy of Things" natureofourtimes.poetsforscience.org/from-the-bro... 📷 Nikon Z8+Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 3600, f6.3, 1/400s) 🪶
- An American robin taking a break from foraging to eye an avid birder 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 1400, f8, 1/800s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- A savannah sparrow hanging out along Wildlife Drive at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 3600, f7.1, 1/640s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- Dive into the week like this Northern mockingbird 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 1250, f9, 1/4000s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- An extremely out-of-range eared grebe that has been hanging around Hains Point the past several days. This species is rare in the East but abundant in the West. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 3200, f7.1, 1/640s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- Troglodytes hiemalis, better known at the winter wren, is a chatty, albeit well camouflaged, visitor to the Mid-Atlantic from late fall through early spring. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 5000, f6.3, 1/500s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- A red-shouldered hawk perched atop a neighbor's house at sunrise. A murder of crows chased the hawk off after a short while. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 1000, f9, 1/640s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- The Eastern towhee is one of our larger and chattier sparrows in the Mid-Atlantic. This species is often hard to spot in the undergrowth, but this one briefly emerged for an obligatory glamor shot. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 3600, f8, 1/500s) #birds #birdphotography
- If you want to find small songbirds, listen for the Carolina chickadees' chatter. This was one of several exuberant individuals bopping and borbing around with a mixed flock of nuthatches, kinglets, and others. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 560, f6.3, 1/800s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- Little boaster, vagrant king, Neither north nor south is yours, You've no kingdom that endures! Wandering every fall and spring, With your ruby crown so slender, Are you only a Pretender, Landless king? From "The Ruby-Crowned Kinglet" by Henry van Dyke Jr. 🪶
- One of several brown-headed nuthatches that took turns placing their seeds in the choicest knot and pounding it with their respective beaks. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 1100, f8, 1/1250s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- Saturday's bonus photo: A short-eared owl just before dawn at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. This is my first lifer of 2026 and photo-lifer #222. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 8000, f6.3, 1/640s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- One of the largest sparrows in the Mid-Atlantic, fox sparrows stand out both in terms of size and color in the winter months. This is one of several individuals hanging out at the Patuxent Research Refuge on a cold, overcast January day. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 3200, f8, 1/500s) 🪶
- A hairy woodpecker exploring the trees lakeside at Wheaton Regional Park 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 1100, f8, 1/1000s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- Start your year right with a song sparrow 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 1000, f6.3, 1/640s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- A hermit thrush taking in the last gasps of 2025 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 2800, f6.3, 1/400s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- Reposted by Mike Saccone[Not loaded yet]
- The backyard Carolina wren were none too pleased I spent last weekend with some of their Bewick's brethren. Had to give the local boys some time in the limelight. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 5600, f8, 1/640s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- The loudest woodpecker in the woods trying to blend in 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 1800, f6.3, 1/500s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- The only bird whose clever, bark-like patterning fools my camera's autofocus: the brown creeper 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 1400, f8, 1/2000s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- This festive and frenetic ruby-crowned kinglet hopes you're having a great winter holiday. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 400, f7.1, 1/800s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- A sharp-shinned hawk that swooped in and stole the limelight from the sparrows, juncos, and woodpeckers 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 2000 f8, 1/2500s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- This golden-crowned kinglet was more than happy to add a pop of color to the drab wintry foliage 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 5600, f6.3, 1/640s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- An Eastern bluebird soaking up the golden hour light 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 2000, f7.1, 1/1600s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- A bonus photo for your Sunday: A leucistic chipping sparrow inspecting the tracks at Wheaton Regional Park. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 2200, f8, 1/640s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- This winter wren is here to wish you a happy winter solstice. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 3200, f8, 1/640s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- Reposted by Mike SacconeAs we get close to the end of the year I thought I'd repost some of my favorites. These aren't in any particular order, but how could I not start with my absolute favorite of the Kingbird riding on the osprey while carrying a fish? #photography #birds
- A yellow-bellied sapsucker that paused to snack on several hackberries just before sunset at Wheaton Regional Park 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 2000, f7.1, 1/1600s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- A house finch puffed up and posing in the snow 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm (ISO 1600, f10, 1/320s) 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
- A dark-eyed junco kicking up snow on a chilly #Maryland day. 📷 #Nikon #Z8 + Nikkor 180-600mm 🪶 #birds #birdphotography
