Marco Van Brabant writes:

My walk along Kearny Marsh on Friday morning was gorgeous: Because there was snow, I had to walk in it, take pictures of it. 

A Wonderland, a hushed world blanketed by snow, every branch covered, the marsh grasses covered, now and then a phragmites frond would snap upright when the weight of snow that bended it fell off.  

The trail already altered by Hurricane Sandy was completely obscured; the only footprints were those of a cat. I ducked under the branches not to disturb the snow.  It was so incredibly beautiful, the trail a snow palace.  

(Thanks, Marco!)  More pix follow.

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We stopped by Bell Drive in Ridgefield to look at the Bald Eagles' nest across the water in Ridgefield Park last week and could see one eagle sitting in the nest (middle right). 

Alice the Bald Eagle and her mate Al have had two sets of two eaglets the past two springs.

A previous post on Alice the Eagle is here.

Elaine and Mickey Raine can often be seen, cameras at the ready, at Meadowlands walks and cleanups, and their photography appears on this blog fairly regularly.

Although they seem a bit inseparable, we thought we would each give them their own Photographers Showcase. We highlighted Elaine last Monday. Now it's Mickey's turn.

Mickey writes:

We have been passionate fans of the Meadowlands for about five years now, and being avid hikers and enthusiasts of nature in all capacities, this region had immediately captured our hearts from the very first visit to DeKorte Park. 

My  photos are the NJMC raised hall and boardwalk ramp above the water leading to it, but with a Tri-colored Heron to accentuate the quiet appeal (Aug. '12; above), a view of the downtown NYC skyline visible through the window frame of a viewing hut at DeKorte Park, for it is ever present as a glorious backdrop to the region, showing the dichotomy of the world's business center in comparison to the tranquil setting of the Meadowlands, a stone's throw away (Aug. '12), and finally, the magnificent play between the setting sun and the ice at Mill Creek Marsh yesterday (01/26/13). Both photos follow.

The link  to view our  photos of the Meadowlands on FLICKR is here. (Thanks, Mickey!)

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Regina Geoghan writes:

By the time I got to DeKorte Park of Friday, the snow was changing to rain and it was a sloppy mess.  But I did get a few photos that I was happy with – Almost an etching effect.  Two samples attached.

(Thanks, Regina!)

The NJMC's Angelo Urato took this shot at River Barge Park this morning.

(Thanks, Angelo!)

We love the Meadowlands, and it's always nice when other avid birders agree.

Greg Cantrell is doing a New Jersey Big Year to raise money for New Jersey Audubon (he is at 162 species).  He and his birding buddy Bill Margaretta stopped by the Meadowlands on Sunday.

After Sunday's Mill Creek guided walk, we bumped into Greg and Bill and offered to show them Harrier Meadow — it was, after all, for a very good cause.

They saw some nice birds, and as Greg reported: "With the New York City skyline in the background, I was looking at some of the best birding habitat you could hope to find anywhere."

Thanks, Greg!

The link to the post is here.

A link to Greg's "My New Jersey Big Year" home page is here.

If you look along the left-hand column of this blog, you'll see a new feature — a Photography Showcase index, with links to the photographers we have highlighted so far…  Just part of our efforts to promote nature photography in the Meadowlands.

We invite photographers to send in three of their favorite Meadowlands images, a brief bio, a little squib about why they love photographing here, and a link to their online pages. (A photo of yourself would be great, too!)

More information on submitting your images for the showcase follows.

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Our next free guided walk with Bergen County Audubon Society is at Harrier Meadow, a 70-acre natural area usually closed to the public.

We'll look for and look for Ospreys, Killdeer, Wilson's Snipes and other spring arrivals, plus lingering winter waterfowl.

The two-hour walk begins at 10 a.m.

Details follow.

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Don Torino's latest post on the wildnewjersey.tv blog is about George Reskakis (above), who devotes so much time and energy to the Teaneck Creek Conservancy — and who still found time to help with our post-Sandy Meadowlands cleanups.

Writes Don: "The leaders of the environmental movement do not sit in some big office somewhere. … they are local people like George Reskakis, who lead us by example.

"They like George wear their conscience on their sleeve and show us all the direction we need to go and what needs to be done. They manage to do what seems so hard for many people to do or understand and yet when it comes down to it, it’s the most simple, it’s called “The right thing.” (Thanks, George!)

The link is here.

Stopped by the Monk Parakeet Colony in Ridgefield this week and found a couple of dozen birds perched in or near their nests. 

They all appear to be doing fine, and making their usual racket. 

The birds were using both their under-the-bridge nests and the plywood ones built for them (left) when the bridge was undergoing repairs a couple of years ago.

(First time we've visited in a long time when it hasn't been cold and gray out — and, of course, it's cold and gray out again today.)