From Brian Barnes

Love the eyebrows on this tired looking Barred Owl!

From Karin Skl

Listed as a "Waldohreule," which translates from German to ~~"Wood Owl,"~~ "Wood(Forest) Ear Owl" but many of us would know it as a Long Eared Owl.

From Dirk Helmert

Hugo, the Eurasian Eagle Owl.

Falknerei Bad Marienberg, Germany

From Mike Rodwell

A set of pics taken on a photoshoot several years ago with the incomparable Andy Rouse. Andy had access to a private estate where this Little Owl was rearing two young in a disused barn. The light was excellent, the dark background was due to framing the shots in front of the large entrance to the barn. No messing around has taken place with the photos other than cropping and a little sharpening in Topaz. Kit used was a Canon 1DX with 400 2.8 lens and either 1.4x or 2x convertor. Hope you like them as much as do...

From Simon Dentremont

The story goes like this...I was lying in the mud (don't all good bird photography stories start this way?) taking pics of this owl when l realized that there was an amazing pink sunset behind me. So I relocated to a different angle, so could lie in the mud again, and get that beautiful pink sky as the background of my owl pic. Maybe my favorite owl pic this year. And yes, laundry when I got home. I also keep a towel in my SUV for just such an event.

Short-Eared Owi (In French, Hibou des Marais), Feb 2021.

From MN Owl Tours

Great Gray Owl is a little large for its choice of perching locations.

From Phil Stone

First in 2 years for me!

From Ross Salawitch

Barred Owl descending into a local waterway. Somehow, due to the magic of the camera, the timing of my "pan" resulted in a sharp image of the Owl's face, a rendering of motion in the wings, as well as a blurred background of the Fall foliage. Owls fly silently in part because the trailing edge of the wings bend with the air, reducing turbulence.

12 Nov 2024; Prince George's County

From Phil Haynes

Nice to find my garden Little Owl was sitting out this morning.

From Thy Bun

This incredible shot captures a Long-eared Owl in mid- flight, wings spread wide as it glides through the golden light of dusk or dawn. The backlighting accentuates the owl's beautiful feather patterns, casting a warm glow through its wings and revealing intricate details. Its intense yellow eyes are locked forward, creating a mesmerizing, focused gaze that draws the viewer in. The blurred background allows the owl to stand out in sharp detail, emphasizing its graceful yet powerful presence. A truly captivating moment that showcases the elegance and mystery of this nocturnal hunter!

From Charlotte Byers

Yesterday (with all the rain today, it seems a long time ago) it was so beautiful, especially in the afternoon. We decided to drive to Wylie Slough and the "East 90" in Skagit County. put the owls and other raptors at the East 90 in first. The afternoon sun there made photography a real pleasure. Earlier (about noon to 1:30) we had a few clouds and even sprinkles at Wylie Slough.

(Washington State)

Update: Winners of Round 2

• Philippine Scops
• Milky Eagle
• Mottled Wood
• Boreal
• Dusky Eagle
• Indian Scops
• Buff Fronted
• Black Banded

The votes of Round 1 are in, and these are the owls moving on to the tournament:

• Long Eared
• Crested
• Eurasian Eagle
• Great Horned
• Barred
• Oriental Bay
• Barking
• Spectacled

Thanks for all your votes. You made some good choices. Tawny is the one I'm saddest to see go, they look so gentle and loveable, but there is always next year and any other time I find a good picture.

It's time to select the final 8! There are a lot of owls we have to seen very much of, possibly a few we've never had featured before. Let me know who you like, and then I can get our bracket set up.

Rules are simple and the same as before: simply upvote which you like.

Vote for one or two, vote for all, vote for none, the choice is yours.

Downvotes do not count.

Ladies and gentlemen, the choices are yours. Let's see those votes! I'll leave this open for a week again.

#superbowl #owloftheyear24

From Simon Litten

Norfolk, England

Barn Owl appears to be hunting a giant watermark 😅

From Dan Oh

I'm so happy to see the first Snowy Owl of 2024-2025 season. see tiny "horns"

From Paul Bannick

Migratory Snowy Owls begin arriving at prey-rich winter spots this month! As they fan out from Arctic tundra breeding grounds, most fly south but others may travel east, west or even North. Keep your eyes open! In this photo, two juvenile Snowy Owls compete over the best hunting perch.

From Jamie Bell

Beautiful dawn, little owl looking curious so cracked off a few shots at a distance so not to scare it then left it in peace Nikon d500 Nikon 200-500mm lens ss 1/2500 of sec f5.6 iso 3200 my local nature reserve in the uk

From Paul Bannick

Bare-legged Owl (Margarobyas lawrenci)

This small, cavity nesting owl lives only on Cuba and the adjacent Ise of Pines. It feeds primarily upon arthropods supplemented by frogs, snakes and birds. This long-legged owl has in the past been considered the same species as the Puerto Rican Owl and as a member of the Megascops genus along with other screech owls.

From Faruk Kizil

Weißer Kanada-Uhu Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus canadensis)

The picture was taken at a feeding place of a falconer in Netherlands.

From NM Wildlife Center

Most of the animals we admit to our hospital come to us because they have encountered one of the many anthropogenic, or human-caused, dangers in the wild. Great Horned Owl 24-910 is no exception: this bird suffered multiple injuries to his wings when he collided with a barbed wire fence. Barbed wire is dangerous to a lot of animals, but owls are especially susceptible. Most owls hunt in the dark or in very low light, and they fly low to the ground as they swoop down to catch their prey. A barbed wire fence can be nearly invisible in the dark and just the right height to snare a raptor as they fly down to catch their dinner.

The fence caused injuries to both of 24-910's wings. Since so much skin was damaged at the injury sites, it was not possible to simply sew the holes closed. Instead, Dr. Avery - with assistance from Wildlife Rehabilitation Manager Stephanie - carefully removed some healthy skin from an uninjured area near the owl's leg, sutured that area closed, and used the skin graft to patch one of the barbed wire injuries on 24-910's wing! The other injuries were patched in a similar way using a hydrocolloid wound dressing instead of a skin graft.

Just a few days after surgery, the skin graft site is healing well and so are the barbed wire injuries on 24-910's wings! The final photo in this series shows the area where the graft was applied and was taken just 4 days after surgery. Barbed wire injuries can be complex to treat and can involve damage to tendons, nerves, and other important structures, but so far we are pleased with 24-910's progress. As you can see in the first photo, this patient definitely still has the fierce attitude of a Great Horned Owl, which is a great sign!

I'll spare you guys the pokey pictures, but the recovery one was too good. The graft looked to be healing very well though, as they mentioned.

From Pedro Nun

Eurasian Scops

Madrid

From TB3 Photography

I was on my phone with my wife when I saw it sitting on this driftwood in the distance. My exact words were, "Holy S&*%! That's a Snowy Owl."

It's been almost two years since I've seen one. Last year they were non-existent, so to see one so early in the season this year is very hopeful.

It didn't stick around for long, however. While I was sure to keep my distance (this image is cropped), it was watching me very closely and flew off very quickly.

From Rob Urquhart

My favorite owl pic from last year. Northern Harrier and SEO battle over rodent.

In the pic, I couldn't tell which, if, either one, still had possession of the mouse.

I found the photographer shared the photo on that other Superbowl community you may have heard of, and he said the Shortie was the one with a full belly in the end.

Hit post by accident on an incomplete draft and didn't want to see a dead post hanging out on my feed. Here's a Long Eared Owl to fill it in with something nice but simple.

From Michelle Osterhus

So excited to spend some time with these guys again this winter!

From Aaron Throness

My first eastern screech owl of the season was a sleepy one, but more than made up for its drowsiness with being just downright cute! The other day, it leapt out of its cavity just as the sun was setting and availed itself for a few photogenic portraits before darkness blanketed the woods. I hadn't seem him/her for almost half a year, so it was a great relief and just as great a thrill to hold a reunion!

From Simon Dentremont

This Snowy Owl (in French, Harfang des neiges) was sitting up on a bank, waiting for the sun to set to go hunting. I positioned myself so the setting sun was behind it for a nice portrait, when it decided to leave its perch, luckily for me, in my direction. One of my favorite pics all year. I especially like the sunset highlights on those furry legs and kicked-up snow. Nova Scotia, Canada, Jan 2022.