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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 18h

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Green, any bird with green in its plumage or green in the background. Here's both: an olive-green ruby crowned kinglet perching against a leafy green background. #birds #nature #photography

An olive green ruby crowned kinglet, olive all over with a prominent eye ring, perches on a thin branch staring right at the camera, with its head cocked to one side. The background is varying shades of green from the canopy in which it is foraging.

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Waders. Here's a solitary sandpiper, clearly annoyed at me for taking its picture. #birds #nature #photography

A solitary sandpiper, speckled brown above and white below with olive-yellow legs, stands in a shallow pool as it forages for food. The bird has its butt cocked up and its head tilted to the side, and is staring right at the camera with an annoyed, quizzical expression on its face.

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

The alt theme for #BirdOfTheDay is #Eating. Here's a black-throated green warbler browsing through the canopy, after having caught a juicy caterpillar. #birds #nature #photography

A black-throated green warbler, with a white belly and sides streaked black and olive on top with a streaked yellow face, perches on a thin branch, head tilted downward. A green caterpillar hangs from its beak, the fruits of his foraging in the canopy.

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Reposted by Mike DiCuccio

Micah @rincewind.run · 07/10/2026

rip to one of the coolest software engineers who ever lived

Margaret Hamilton standing next to a printout of code she and her team wrote for the Apollo program, which is as tall as she is

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I'm going with the alt theme of #Perched for today's #BirdOfTheDay. Here's a common yellowthroat, foraging among reeds and grasses beside a beaver pond. It's been a fruitful warbler season here in Maryland! #birds #nature #photography

A female common yellowthroat, olive above with a prominent yellow throat, perches on a nearly horizontal thick grass stem. Several reddish-orange grassy seed fronds are visible around and below her, as she peers into the fronds deciding which seed to go for next.

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

For #BirdOfTheDay / #BirdSupermodel, here's a very showy magnolia warbler posing underneath a spray of leaves. #birds #nature #photography

A magnolia warbler, yellow below flecked with black and olive above with a prominent eye ring, perches on a branch underneath a spray of leaves. The leaves look like an umbrella or parasol.

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Reposted by Mike DiCuccio

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 05/10/2026

The SPEAKER implies. The LISTENER infers. The DUDE abides.

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The #BirdOfTheDay theme today is #Blueskies. Here's a red-winged blackbird, belting out its favorite tune from the top of a tree, framed against a clear blue sky. #birds #nature #photography

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

For #BirdOfTheDay / #WingsOpenNotFlying, I've chosen a (lesser?) yellowlegs, skipping through a grass-covered mudflat from a recently lowered lake and looking for a quick snack. #birds #nature #photography

A lesser yellowlegs, brown and white speckled above and white below with impossibly long bright yellow legs, stands on one foot with its back to the camera and its head turned to the right. It is shuffling its wings to hop through the shallow pools left behind when a flood control lake was allowed to run a bit dry.

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

For #BirdOfTheDay / #Black&Red, here's a downy woodpecker, listening intently for the sound of grubs inside tree trunks. #birds #nature #photography

A downy woodpecker, speckled black and white below with a splash of red on the head and black bands on white tail feathers, clings to a tree trunk as it sounds out where a grub might be. The background is the pale green and yellow of an early fall day.

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Today's theme for #BirdOfTheDay is #BestBeaks. Here's an eastern wood pewee, showing off a beak that is perfect for catching flying insects. #birds #nature #photography

An eastern wood pewee, dark gray above and buff below with a slightly darker neck and two pale wing bands, perches on a thin branch. Its beak is wide open; it had just alit after catching and consuming a flying insect.

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Today's theme for #BirdOfTheDay is #Black&White, the alt theme is #Vivid. Here are a couple of shots that worked well with varying degrees of desaturation, with or without vivid highlights. #birds #nature #photography

A downy woodpecker perches high on an upright branch, peering upward. The image was naturally very desaturated.

A pileated woodpecker perches on an angled tree trunk. The image is fully desaturated, except for the flaming red crest and trunk, which makes for a vivid contrast.

A flock of ducks is seen in the foreground, surrounding a lone duck with its head elevated. The central duck is in vivid color, while the rest of the image is black and white. Three rucks are seen snoozing on a log in the background.

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Thanks! I came down to the shore of the lake and saw a big flock of geese and ducks, and it took a few minutes before I realized there was an ibis there. It was really unexpected.

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Reposted by Mike DiCuccio

Mark Schofield @markschofield.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Mike Tomlin is currently giving a tour of his boutique hotel in Minecraft, which has a multipurpose conference room and an appropriate number of public restroom and I’m losing MY MIND

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Reposted by Mike DiCuccio

Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

"The hulls are alive, with the sound of mu-" Oh. Oh dear.

Hungarian (I think) postcard of the sinking French Cruiser Leon Gambetta, which we're assured is the victim of a "megtorpedozot". It's certainly been dotted all right. Image via Cartorum.fr, which I highly recommend for all your dubious and saucy French postcards for the discerning gentleman (and no doubt some of the ladies)

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Today's theme for #BirdOfTheDay is #BestOfTheMonth. My choice is - duck, duck, duck, IBIS! A glossy ibis, seen on a flood control lake in central Maryland. #birds #nature #photography

Three ducks and an ibis walk into a bar...
A glossy ibis, a deep, glossy reddish black, is seen walking leftward, with its neck bent and its bill prominent. Three juvenile mallards, two female and one male, are seen to the right. All occupy a small spit of vegetation-covered land in a shallow lake. The background is a rich orange/red, as the summer brush fades into autumn.

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Reposted by Mike DiCuccio

David W (aka Flex NP) @rnflex.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Full Retatrutide phase 3 obesity data published today. It's gonna take a minute to fill dissect this. The appendix alone has 70 pages of data. Long story short we created a drug that's almost too good. Huge chunks of people stopped or reduced doses from excess weight reductions.

nejm.org

Retatrutide, a Triple Hormone Receptor Agonist, for Treatment of Obesity | NEJM

Retatrutide is a triple-receptor agonist of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, glucagon-like peptide-1, and glucagon receptors. In this phase 3, randomized, double-blind trial, we assign...

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Today's theme for #BirdOfTheDay is #EFG. Here's a glossy ibis, a lifer for me and a rarity in central Maryland, seen at an inland lake. #birds #nature #photography

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Reposted by Mike DiCuccio

Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Super interesting study investigating a commensal bacteria that looks to contain metabolic products that impact the development of fat. Study highlights a microbiome /immune cell and metabolism network 🧵🧪

cell.com

A commensal-derived sugar protects against obesity by regulating immunometabolism

Tan et al. identify a human commensal bacterium, Clostridium immunis—and its bioactive phosphocholine-modified exopolysaccharide (EPS)—that reduces visceral adiposity and weight gain in mice. By decre...

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Today's theme for #BirdOfTheDay is #BokehBirds. Here's a (lesser?) yellowlegs walking through a recently submerged part of a mudflat, with light glinting on the wet water grasses in the background. #birds #nature #photography

A lesser yellowlegs picks its way through a shallow pool, looking for food. It is peering intently at the water in front of it, and raising one leg as it walks. The background is a blurred sea of greens flecked with bright sparkles, as sunlight glints off the wet grasses in the pool.

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Today's theme for #BirdOfTheDay is #Seabirds. Here's a double-crested cormorant, shaking its wings dry at a freshwater lake. #birds #nature #photography

A double-crested cormorant perches on the gnarled trunk of a fallen tree over a freshwater lake. Its wings are wide open, as it shakes them dry; there is a spray of water droplets surrounding it. The background is the fading green and oranges of an early fall afternoon.

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

The theme for today's #BirdOfTheDay is #Pairs. Here's a scene with two pairs - a pair of Canada geese and a pair of wood ducks - preening in the shallow water of a lake in the early morning. #birds #nature #photography

A log is partially submerged in the rippled surface of a lake, green with reflected leaves. There is a pair of wood ducks (male and female) preening on the near end of the log. A Canada goose stands on the far end of the log, also preening, while its mate stands on one leg in the water adjusting its feathers.

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Today's theme for #BirdOfTheDay is #Borbs. Here's a song sparrow resting on a very cold day, all puffed up against the chill. #birds #nature #photography

A song sparrow perches on a thick branch. It is facing the camera with its head turned to the right, and its feathers are fluffed into a near-perfect ball. It is balancing on one leg, with its eyes half-closed against the cold.

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I'm going with the alt theme for #BirdOfTheDay: #BirdStare. Here's a solitary sandpiper picking its way across a mudflat, and stopping to look right at me. #birds #nature #photography

A solitary sandpiper, brown above and white below, with clear facial stripes, is walking straight toward the camera and staring right at me. The background is brownish green wilting underwater grasses, as the area is part of a flood control lake that is at a low ebb.

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Reposted by Mike DiCuccio

Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

What's behind this tidal wave of epidemics? In the largest study ever conducted on emerging infectious diseases, we show that the popular explanation - "our relationship with nature is out of balance" - doesn't hold up. Out now in Nature, after half a decade of work: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.com

The anthropogenic fingerprint on emerging infectious diseases - Nature

Emerging infectious disease outbreak risks are ubiquitous worldwide, and highest in landscapes where people, livestock and fragmented natural ecosystems coexist, but detection and data ...

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Here's the same osprey, facing into the wind and hovering only about 30 feet above the water. #BirdOfTheDay #Raptors #birds #nature #photography

A large osprey is seen hanging in air, its wings fanning laterally as it hovers in air. The bird is looking down into the lake, its tail splayed for stability and its legs and talons dangling beneath it.

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

The theme for today's #BirdOfTheDay is #Raptors. A week ago, an osprey passed about 20 feet over my head while scouting for fish. Here's one of the extreme close-ups I was able to get as it passed overhead. #birds #nature #photography

An osprey's body is seen filling the frame, with its wings open; the wing tips are out of the frame. Its head is down-turned, as it scans for fish; its feet are tucked, and its remarkable talons are clearly visible. The bright blue sky frames the background

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Here's a pileated woodpecker, skipping up an angled tree trunk, for #RedHeads / #BirdOfTheDay #birds #nature #photography

A pileated woodpecker with a bright, flaming red crest skips up a sloped tree trunk. Its feet are blurred with motion and not contacting the trunk; its head is seen in sharp focus.

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

For #BirdOfTheDay / #LightAndShadow, I'm going with an eastern phoebe, pausing on a branch in morning sunlight, half-shaded, curious about the camera pointed at it. #birds #nature #photography

An eastern phoebe, gray/brown above and pale below, perches on a curving branch, staring right at the camera. The light comes from the left, leaving its right side in shadow.

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I second the recommendation, as well as her prequel series (five novels). Well worth it!

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Richard Waite @waiterich.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

German chocolate cake was named after English-American chocolate maker Samuel German, and uses baking chocolate—which may be the Baker’s Chocolate brand which itself was named after the Baker family who owned that chocolate company.

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I previously posted this from the same preening session. Rather frightening talons to scratch oneself with!

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Mike DiCuccio @dicuccio.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

The alt theme for today's #BirdOfTheDay is #Scruffy. Believe it or not, this is actually a red-shouldered hawk... I watched him scratch like a dog while grooming, but here he is, looking more like a disordered pile of feathers. #birds #nature #photography

A mass of wet, disorganized russet and white feathers perches in a tree. His head is visible on top, as he fluffs his wet feathers out, and his tail and wingtips protrude from under the branch on which he perches. This was captured during an extended preening session.

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