Mike N., MSN, RN
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mniesphoto.com
Mike N., MSN, RN
@mniesphoto.com
670 followers 1.2K following 1K posts
Patient Education Coordinator @ UCSD Health
Bird photographer everywhere.
Views expressed are my own; reskeet ≠ endorsement.
He/him/his.
Logo by @thornwolf.com

www.mniesphoto.com
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mniesphoto.com
Biblically accurate Brandt's cormorant wishes you a very happy Valentine's day!

#birds #nature #wildlife #photography
Photo of a Brandt's cormorant putting on a mating display. His wings are out, tail is up and splayed, and head is looking up to display his bright blue gullet. This is the Brandt's cormorant equivalent of "Please notice me from across the bar!" Thanks to the blue pattern in his eyes, they appear doubled: like there are 2 on each side.
February 14, 2026 at 9:18 PM
mniesphoto.com
It's baby seal time! This little one really wanted its mom to wake up and play, but mom really just wanted to sleep in for once on a Saturday.

#photography #wildlife #mammals
Photo of a baby harbor seal flopped on the sand, looking very kitten-like. It's has Dalmatian-like spots. Photo of a baby harbor seal lifting its head off the sand and scratching its face. It is extremely cute. Photo of a baby seal rolling back on its back and winking at the camera. Still not beating the "they're kittens of the sea" allegations. Photo of a baby harbor seal giving it's mother a kiss.
February 14, 2026 at 8:32 PM
mniesphoto.com
Post a tree you photographed
#trees #photography
Photograph of a very dead tree sticking out of a salt flat in the Salton Sea. The sun peaking from behind clouds is framed by the branches, like a winking eye, and a bright spot on the other side of the tree makes it look like the sun is the tree's eyes. There's a stream in the foreground that is smoothed out, and carries the reflection of the sun. It's a barren landscape, but still with some green life left.
February 12, 2026 at 12:01 AM
mniesphoto.com
Oh you know, just cat things.
Photo of two cats lying on an ottoman. There's an orange cat on the left, flopped out in long mode. She's looking up at the camera slightly. There's a tuxedo cat on the right who has snuggled up against the orange cat, after orange cat wouldn't wake up to give her head licks on demand.
February 7, 2026 at 6:58 AM
mniesphoto.com
I'm sorry Martin, that really sucks. Pumpkin sends purrs and KittySnores
Photo of an orange cat on a red couch. The cat is asleep, tucked into a spot between two couch cushions, contorting herself in a way that only cats and a few non-Newtonian fluids can.
February 2, 2026 at 4:04 PM
mniesphoto.com
One of my very first bird photos where everything came together: eye in focus, nice pose, background separation, the whole enchilada.

#birds #nature #photography #bushtitoftheday #birdoftheday #shortbeak
Photo of a bushtit sitting on a toyon branch. Bushtits are fluffy, twitchy little bastards, and this remains the only decent photo of one I've ever taken. Bird is looking off its left shoulder, with the light iris ring on full display.
January 16, 2026 at 5:05 PM
mniesphoto.com
Mmmmhm. One of my very first bird photos where everything came together, but gave me unreasonably high expectations for getting more shots of these twitchy little bastards.
Photo of a bushtit sitting on a toyon branch. Bushtits are fluffy, twitchy little bastards, and this remains the only decent photo of one I've ever taken. Bird is looking off its left shoulder, with the light iris ring on full display.
January 16, 2026 at 4:56 PM
mniesphoto.com
I'm in the Virgin Islands for a bit of family vacation, and found room in my luggage for my camera and a couple lenses. These are two bird portraits from the Phantasea Botanical Gardens on Christmas Eve: a bananaquit and a green-throated carib.

#birds #photography #wildlife
Photo of a bananaquit with split lighting, thanks to where the sun was coming from. The right side of the bird is well lit, with the features of its face and beak fully visible. The left side is in shadow, leading to a rather menacing look, as its looking directly into the camera. The bird has a yellow body, dark brown/gray wings, a gray neck, black mask around its eyes, and white stripes on its head. It's sitting on a branch. Photo of a green-throated carib. It's a very iridescent hummingbird: mostly green, including a striking green head, with patches of orange and blue on parts of its body. It's perched on a branch, with its head turned to the right to look directly into the camera.
December 27, 2025 at 1:29 AM
mniesphoto.com
It is indeed.
Photo of a hummingbird in flight among a cloud of insects, beak wide open as it eats them up. A very enlightening moment as I realized that nectar doesn't really have much protein.
November 27, 2025 at 5:05 PM
mniesphoto.com
Couldn't find the Mandarin at Santee Lakes yesterday, but had some fun with the Northern shovelers anyway. Weird duck season approaches!

#birds #wildlife #photography
Photo of a female Northern shoveler taking off. The morning sun is giving her a nice glow-up, and there are water drops flying off as she flies. Photo of a male northern shoveler floating by in perfect morning light. The duck has a green head, and a white and buff body.
November 13, 2025 at 5:17 AM
mniesphoto.com
By popular demand (& inspiration from @banditelli.org / @gettoknownature.bsky.social) we have a new Birds Feed prompt: birds & cursing!

Share an angry bird & the curse you feel it embodies.

I'm getting "Really, dipshit?" vibes from this acorn woodpecker.

#birds #wildlife #photography
Photo of the most judgemental acorn woodpecker I've ever seen. It's the bird version of a tuxedo cat with a bright red cap, looking directly into the camera through some pine needles.
November 1, 2025 at 10:14 PM
mniesphoto.com
Meme from Arrested Development of Lindsay and Tobias talking about how to save their relationship. The caption reads: Tobias: "People often think they can safely sit down for an interview with Isaac Chotiner." Lindsay: "Well did it work out for those people?" Tobias: "No, it never does. I mean, these people somehow delude themselves into thinking it might. But... ... But it might work for us."
October 28, 2025 at 2:54 PM
mniesphoto.com
What started as a cold, misty, and moody morning with the coots at Santee Lakes brightened up into a beautiful day of belted kingfisher and green heron time.

It's not quite Weird Duck season here. Yet.

#birds #wildlife #photography
Photo of an American coot swimming directly at the camera. The photo overall is dark, the water mostly still except for a single line coming from the bird showing motion. It has a somewhat ominous and foreboding feel. Photo of a male belted kingfisher with a bird in his beak. He's flying over a white fence with wings outstretched. Photo of a male belted kingfisher with a bird in his beak. He's at a bit of an angle to the camera, his wings are mid-beat, and he's flying over grass with what looks like a barn in the background. Photo of a green heron, wings outstretched for balance as it walks up some reeds. The bird had just landed and was trying to find a good way up to a higher perch.
October 27, 2025 at 4:24 AM
mniesphoto.com
Vibes are off. Pull out and post your duck picks.

#birds #wildlife #photography
Photo of a male wood duck floating on the pond. There's a few circles in the water from the duck moving but not many, and its reflection is mostly intact.
October 21, 2025 at 8:54 PM
mniesphoto.com
Photos from an early morning walk at Lake Hodges last month. That was one of the most cooperative killdeers I've met in a long time.

#birds #wildlife #photography
Photo of a large egret-type bird standing in the water shortly after sunrise. There's a faint mist rising in the background, the water is completely golden, and the bird is silhouetted. I can't remember what species this is, but guessing its either a great blue heron or a great egret. Photo of a killdeer running along the shore at sunrise. The water is golden and the bird is in silhouette, mid-stride.
October 20, 2025 at 2:25 AM
mniesphoto.com
Shame that their form doesn't accept image upload!
A still frame from The Exorcist. A priest is holding a cross that has the seal of the State Bar of Texas overlayed. The priest's eyes have been replaced by kiwis, and the caption reads "The power of spite compels you!"
October 16, 2025 at 5:49 PM
mniesphoto.com
More photos from my trip to Ottawa. Some of the most cooperative Small Flitty Birds I've ever met!

#wildlife #birds #photography
Close-up photo of a white-breasted nuthatch looking at the camera. It's a small grey and white bird with a black nape and headcap, seemingly black eyeliner, and a very judgy look. Photo of a male wood duck floating on the pond. There's a few circles in the water from the duck moving but not many, and its reflection is mostly intact. Photo of a female Northern cardinal perched on a branch. The colors are the usually grey-green muted coloring except for a few hints of red on the tail feathers, and a striking red-orange bill. The bird's body is facing away from the camera, but its head is turned 90 degrees to the right so it's presenting more of a profile shot to the camera.
October 14, 2025 at 7:47 PM
mniesphoto.com
Pumpkin and April send you their best.
Photo of 2 cats sitting on the back of a red couch. The cat on the left is a tuxedo, and is pressing her head into the face of the orange cat on the right, in hope of getting some kitty kisses. Orange Cat on the right, and is looking mildly unamused at Tuxedo Cat's antics, as though Orange Cat has never tried the same thing with her humans and their laptops. Tuxedo Cat is sitting in loaf pose, while Orange Cat has draped herself on the back.
October 8, 2025 at 3:43 PM
mniesphoto.com
Still frame of Werner Herzog from The Mandalorian. It's captioned "I would like to see the kittens, please".
October 7, 2025 at 2:34 PM
mniesphoto.com
I'm in Ottawa for a few days for work, and spent Sunday with Tony and Nina from alwaysanadventure.ca. I had a great time looking for photos of Ontario's many birds, and got many great ones thanks to my excellent guides, but starting with this white-throated sparrow!

#birds #wildlife #photography
Photo of a white-throated sparrow peaking out from among the bushes. It's a small, mostly light brown bird perched on a branch. The bird's head is in partial shadow, with its right eye and side of head in morning sun. Its beak is yellow and there's a black stripe that runs through its beak and eye. As the name implies, there's a distinct white patch on its throat.
October 7, 2025 at 3:21 AM
mniesphoto.com
Yeah, I never appreciated just how little distance you actually need to safely run a shotgun range until I went to Triple-B Clays.

Hope the club leadership here responds appropriately and yeets whoever's responsible ASAP...
Screenshot from Google Maps, with a distance measured. The screenshot is of the west side of the CA-60 and Rosemead Blvd. intersection. At the bottom is the LA Clays Shooting Park, 343 meters north is the freeway, and everything past that is a public park. I've shot there many times, and it's entirely safe. There is a service road visible on the map that rings the entire shooting park, which means anyone shooting trap or skeet is shooting directly towards that road and the freeway beyond it. As it happens, this facility will host the shotgun events for LA 2028.
September 23, 2025 at 1:56 AM
mniesphoto.com
New logo, who 'dis?

I've been thinking about getting a logo for a while, and @thornwolf.bsky.social made that a reality! In addition to being a talented artist, Nicole gave awesome guidance at every step of the process. Highly highly HIGHLY recommend!

www.thornwolf.com/logo-design
Photo of an Anna's hummingbird taking off. His wings are upswept and blurred out as he's hauling hummingbird ass. His tiny feets are just visible, and there's a flash of iridescent red on his chin. This is the photo that my new logo is based on. Drawing of hummingbird taking off. The wings are upswept, you can see his tiny feets, and the initials M N are visible in his chin feathers. Text next to the bird reads: M. Nies Photography mniesphoto.com At the bottom is the logo for Thornwolf, with text that says Logo Design by Nicole Dornsife; Thornwolf.com
August 30, 2025 at 6:42 PM
mniesphoto.com
How your email finds me:
Photo of a golden retriever with her eyes nearly crossed, focusing very intently on something directly in front of her. She's wearing a bandana and an ID badge that has been blacked out in the photo. The photo gives the impression that the derp is strong with this one. *It's not. She's a very sweet girl who REALLY WANTS TO CATCH THE TREAT.
August 27, 2025 at 2:01 AM
mniesphoto.com
Some recent bird photos from Kit Carson Park in Escondido: American coot family and a California towhee.

#birds
Photo of 2 birds swimming in water. The water is a metallic green from reflecting the foliage around the lake. The bird on the left is a young, slightly fluffy, grey bird and is handing its parent on the right a weed with its bill. The parent is an American coot -- mostly black with a white, ivory-looking bill and a striking red eye. Photo of a California towhee looking judgmentally at the camera. The towhee is a somewhat generic brown bird with a rusty butt. The photographer is below the bird, even though its on the ground.
August 24, 2025 at 12:35 AM
mniesphoto.com
This is who runs this account.
Photo of an orange cat, looking back at the camera with an extremely judgmental look on her face.
August 10, 2025 at 3:53 AM