Ron Shields and Ramon Gomez both saw this Great Horned Owl perched near Disposal Road yesterday afternoon. Ron managed to take several shots. (Thanks, Ron and Ramon!)

Two more pix follow.

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Although Hurricane Sandy turned up some pretty weird detritus, we're not sure that the new stuff is in the same league with some of the strange dolls and doll parts that we have found in the Meadowlands in the past five years.

They pretty much look the same as the day we found them, only dryer.

What does this have to do with the nature of the Meadowlands, you ask? The nature of the Meadowlands is that you never know what kind of stuff discarded by fellow humans will wash up on our mud flats and in our marshes.

Here are the top five collectible floatables. (And, no, they are not for sale.)

We believe this doll was known as a Phragmites Patch Kid.

Photos of three more dolls follow.

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Our Third-Tuesday-of-the-Month Walk will be at the recently reopened Mill Creek Marsh next Tuesday at 10 a.m. It will be great to bird the site instead of cleaning up storm damage and debris there. We should see plenty of Green-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers and other ducks — plus a raptor or two. 

Mill Creek is a beautiful place any time of year, a wonderful marsh with the Manhattan skyline in the distance. Details follow.

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In the past couple of weeks, this blog has posted some of the weird stuff found during our Post-Sandy volunteer cleanups, like "Sandy," above, who now has her own Facebook page. (Can't make this stuff up.)

Tomorrow, we're posting photos of five very strange dolls that have washed up here in years past. For some reason, they evoke the Meadowlands of yesteryear.

Don Torino's latest column for wildnewjersey.tv is about Losen Slote Creek Park in Little Ferry after Hurricane Sandy.

Here's a sample: "Losen Slote Creek Park, a 22-acre birding hotspot, sometimes called the 'Secret Garden of the Meadowlands,' was one of those places that couldn’t escape the hurricane’s fury.

"Located in storm ravaged Little Ferry, Losen Slote (Dutch for winding stream) is one of the last remaining lowland hardwood forests  in the Meadowlands, which makes it a critical habitat for many migratory bird species such as Hooded Warblers, Swainson’s Thrush and Fox Sparrows.

"Although it is in the middle of suburbia and in the most populated county in the state, Losen Slote is also a vital area to many other great birds like Great Horned and Barred Owls, Wood Ducks, and Hooded Mergansers."

The link is here.

Good news: Work crews are loading up many Dumpsters' worth of debris this week in Harrier Meadow, the next major step to getting this gem back into shape. This photo — featuring a full Dumpster — was taken this afternoon.

The Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Aububon Society want to thank everyone who volunteered to help the Meadowlands' parks and natural areas recover from the huge mess left by Hurricane Sandy.

All told, volunteers logged nearly 270 hours cleaning up Harrier Meadow, Mill Creek Marsh and parts of DeKorte Park — and did an awesome job.

Now that holidays have arrived, and looming uncertainty over winter weather (snow and freezing temperatures), we think it best to suspend our cleanups until March.

Note: The Harrier Meadow cleanup scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 30, has been canceled.

Dennis Cheeseman took this photo and wants to know if it's a Sharpie or a Coop. He's thinking Sharpie. What do you think?

Our Third-Tuesday-of-the-Month Walk will be at the recently reopened Mill Creek Marsh next Tuesday at 10 a.m. It will be great to go birding at the site instead of cleaning up storm damage and debris there. We should see plenty of Green-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers and other ducks — plus a raptor or two. 

Mill Creek is a beautiful place any time of year, a wonderful marsh with the Manhattan skyline in the distance.

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Chris Takacs shared a couple of photos from the Losen Slote walk on Sunday — a Barred Owl (found by Mary Kostus) and a Common Redpoll. (Thanks, Chris and Mary!)