Jim Wright, who maintains this blog for the N.J. Meadowlands Commission, also writes a twice-monthly nature column for the South Bergenite. His latest column is all about the recent big improvements to the blog:

Want to know what nifty events are coming up in the Meadowlands? Want to know what unusual birds are being seen in DeKorte Park or else nearby these days? Or just want to enjoy some wonderful local nature photography?

The answer to all those questions is simple: the N.J. Meadowlands Commission’s nature blog, www.meadowblog.net.

The NJMC created the blog more than five years ago to celebrate the region’s overlooked natural beauty and to remind folks that this is not your father’s Meadowlands anymore.

But you need to know about some pretty cool recent upgrades to the blog that make it the go-to website for all things nature-related in the Meadowlands.

*To keep folks up to date with our free nature walks, our special events at DeKorte Park’s Environment Center, and other happenings, we have begun posting a new item called “Meadowlands Events This Week” every Monday morning.

(Sneak preview: Next week’s list includes a free guided nature walk in Little Ferry’s Losen Slote Park on Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. and a program on bats, spiders and snakes at the Environment Center the following Sunday at 1 p.m.)

*We also are home to some of the very best nature photography in the Meadowlands, including Ron Shields, Marco Van Brabant, Roy Woodford and Michael Maddaloni — to name just a few.

*And, now, thanks to the NJMC’s tech wizard Dave Wisniewski, we have expanded the blog’s other features and its reach.

*In addition to adding Twitter and a Facebook page for “The Meadowlands Nature Blog,” we have a new feature on the blog that allows you to find out what birds are being seen at DeKorte Park, Mill Creek Marsh and eight other locations — with just one click.

A website called eBird.org, developed and run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, has a new feature called “Hotspot Explorer,” which enable the public to see what birds have been seen recently at any popular birding spot in the nation.

The Meadowlands Nature Blog now has a spot on the blog where you can click on any one of the 10 birding hotspots in the area and find out what bird species have been seen there.

As an example,  when I just clicked “DeKorte Park” under “eBird Hotspots at a Click” in the right-hand column of the blog, I learned that the day before, ace birder Ray Duffy reported three species of duck, a Belted Kingfisher, two species of warblers and several other birds.

You can also tweak the settings for various months for the past 10 years and see what species have been seen during that month. Talk about handy!