A minute after we photographed the Bald Eagle on Disposal Road earlier this month, we photographed an American Kestrel 50 yards away.

Anything unusual about this? Answer tomorrow.

Remember the Bald Eagle that Mary Kostus and a few others saw on Disposal Road earlier this month?

Louis Balboa managed to get a great shot of the bird perched on a pole, and as far as we can tell, the black-on-black leg bands read 9 on top and V on the bottom.  We have submitted the info to the USGS Bird Banding Lab and will post any additional info as we receive it. USGS Bird Banding website is here.

If anyone can look up the bands in the meantime, thanks much!  (And thanks, Louis, for the photo!)

Want to get outside and get some exercise before the big game?

Don't miss the fourth-annual SuperBird Sunday guided walk, a free event that starts outside DeKorte Park at 10 a.m. on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 3, at 10 a.m.

The two-hour walk, sponsored by the N.J. Meadowlands Commission and Bergen County Audubon Society, includes tickets to an NJMC pontoon-boat cruise for the first person to see a bird that an NFL team is named for — Raven, Cardinal, Eagle, Falcon or Seahawk. (Not to worry: legendary birder Bob O'Link, pictured above, will not be on this walk.)

Note: The first person to see a Common Raven will also win his or her choice of a copy of our coffee-table book "The Nature of the Meadowlands" or Tom Yezerski's nifty children's book "Meadowlands."

The first person to see any of the NFL mascot birds will also win a 2013 "Bird of the Year" T-shirt — featuring a Peregrine Falcon.

Full details on the event follow.

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When we started this blog in July 2008, we hopes to attract a few folks who loved the Meadowlands and all the amazing wildlife that thrives here.

We have to say, things have turned out even better than we could have dreamed — and it's all thanks to you.

The readers of this blog are also the creators of this blog — from your wonderful photography to your amazing sightings.  Thank you!

On Friday, we reached our 500,000th page view. The blog now averages over 12,000 page views a month — thanks to you!

To celebrate, and as a small thank you, Jim Wright is bringing free coffee and doughnuts for everyone (while supplies last)  to the Super Bird Sunday guided walk.

Today's Photographers Showcase spotlights Sandy Sorkin. Sandy is a contributor to this blog, a contibutor to "The Nature of the Meadowlands," and the source of our favorite post beginning  of all-time: Sandy Sorkin saw a Sora.

Sandy writes:

"Retiring in 2010 has given me welcome time to pursue both birding and photography. It also allows me to meet many people with similar interests, all of whom seem to have done this far longer than I have. 

"Most of my birding activity takes place in Florida, Colorado and New Jersey providing quite a spectrum for viewing.  I joined The Montclair Bird Club (montclairbirdclub.org) in 2010, and try to visit the seasonal hawk watches as often as possible.  Though it is a bit difficult photographing high-flying raptors.

"Meadowlands birding and photography is especially interesting with the varieties, and quantities of  shorebirds and raptors.  Walking along the paths seems also presents the opportunity to take pictures of butterflies.

"If people don't mind a mix of family pictures with birds, my site is http://sandysorkin.com."

Thanks, Sandy! 

Three more Sandy Sorkin photos follow.

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Ray Duffy reports:

"As of 8:35 a.m. today (Sunday), I see at least 2 male White-winged Crossbills @ Losen Slote in Little Ferry. Birds are high in tree in middle of woods feeding on Sweetgum seed pods."

Thanks, Ray!

Unbelievable, Marco. (Taken Friday a.m.)

For those with laptops, see  below….

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Jim Wright's talk about "The Nature of the Meadowlands" book scheduled for tonight in Allendale has been postponed and will be rescheduled.

The concern is that snow will accumulate over the course of the evening, creating bad footing and slippery roads.

Repair work has begun on the storm-damaged Transco Trail. Construction will continue six days a week through early April.

All of the Transco Trail, the Saw Mill Creek Trail, and the Lyndhurst Nature Reserve are closed. Please: Keep off and keep out! More information follows.

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Jim Wright, keeper of this blog, also writes a twice-monthly column for the South Bergenite. His latest column is on the new Photographers Showcase and Roy Woodford.

When I started writing this column a couple of years back, I thought of readers as folks who want to get outdoors more often, to get some exercise, and to see the beautiful birds and other critters that can be found in the Meadowlands Commission’s parks and natural areas at various times of the year.

But these days, a growing number of nature lovers in the Meadowlands are armed with camera gear as well as binoculars.

As digital cameras become increasingly affordable, more and more folks are photographing birds and sunsets at DeKorte Park and many other Meadowlands locales.

So I’d like to take this opportunity to reach out to all the photographers who may not be aware of all of the opportunities that await them here — or may not be aware that we at the Meadowlands Commission would love to share their photos with other nature lovers on the Meadowlands Blog (www.meadowblog.net).

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