this post was submitted on 18 Dec 2024
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Superbowl

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For owls that are superb.

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WINNER: Saw Whet 66-45 - Owl of the Year Round 27 - Great Horned vs Saw Whet (lemmy.world)
submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by anon6789 to c/superbowl
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Both entrants today have had very solid campaigns so far. The Great Horned beat the Sooty and then had a major win against the beloved Burrowing Owl. Saw Whet got past the Barred Owl and the well liked Buffy Fish Owl. No one could deny either if these owls has a place in the final four.

Great Horned is a legend. Large and powerful with a bellowing hoot. The mightiest hunting owl of the Americas. They have a 5ft / 1.5m wingspan, and only the Snowy outweighs it. Ask someone to describe an owl to you, and they will likely describe to you the mighty Great Horned.

Saw Whet is short and sweet. It's one of the smallest owls, with a chirping call that is quite unique. Though small, its diet is more similar to an owl like the Great Horned than the diet of other small owls. The charming face belies wonderful hunting talent. It migrates to follow its opportunities for success, and that's what it's looking to do today.

Who will be your third banner owl and semi-finalist? Upvote them now!

#superbowl #owloftheyear2024

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[–] anon6789 71 points 3 days ago

Saw Whet Owl

[–] anon6789 44 points 3 days ago

Great Horned Owl

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

💔

[–] anon6789 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

At least it made it much further than last year!

GHO still got a lot of love, and Eagle Owl is still here with pretty equal greatness. Eagle vs SWO in the finals i think would be really good for a closer.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yes ! And SWO is honestly stunning.

[–] anon6789 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I won't be upset is WFS wins, but I'm all for having a new mascot for the next year. It's very close so far, this one is going to be tense!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

A new winner would be nice but what can we do if the owl lovers choose to express their steadfast love for WFS 🤷

[–] anon6789 2 points 2 days ago

We will be stuck with just the hundreds of other owls I post during the year.... 🥺

😜

[–] CheeryLBottom 14 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Wow, my picture made it :D

[–] anon6789 11 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Well you didn't say no when I mentioned it, and everyone really liked it, so I assumed you'd be good with it supporting Team Saw Whet!

I told you it was as good as any pro pic and I don't lie to you guys!

Plus I want you guys to always participate as much as you are willing. This place is for you, I just fill in the holes.

[–] CheeryLBottom 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

And I'm an example of an amateur who got lucky. Saw Whets can't take a bad picture ;)

[–] anon6789 8 points 3 days ago

Mostly true! I still don't share any owl pitching its pellet though. It just is not a photogenic process! Too much like the South Park ep where everyone is... eating in reverse... 😝

[–] homesweethomeMrL 13 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Noooooooooooo! Oh the dreaded match up . . . GHO, the obvious owl-of-owls, or the chirrupy owl with the heart of gold . . . it's brutal I tells ya.

Fine. I know GHO will forgive me. Saw Whet ftw.

[–] anon6789 8 points 3 days ago

GHO will not have any more disdain for us than it did before, I promise! 😉

[–] needthosepylons 4 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Superb...owl... Hahaha... SuperbOwl... Superbowl! But.. Superb... Owl!

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I will be sad to see GHO go, but I had to vote for Saw Whet. ❤️ I know it has what it takes to be Owl of the Year!

[–] anon6789 8 points 3 days ago

Saw Whet has been doing amazingly well thus far. It is very consistent in cuteness between photos, and while they don't have the color variations that GHO do, the range of pattern variations they have provides a subtle change in each photo, which makes every one a bit unique.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Saw-whet is so adorable, but going by sound I have to give the Great Horned its due. Heard one the other night, and considering I live on a busy Los Angeles street near the 405, and have double glazing, that's impressive. Attaboy, Horny!

[–] anon6789 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I tried to look up an easy explanation but couldn't find one, but low frequency sound travels further with less dispersion and also travels through other objects while losing much less energy.

This is why you can hear the owl from a good distance over all the background noise and through your surroundings. It lets it get its message out through the forest (or urban jungle) it calls home!

Someone else is going to have to ELI5 the physics though!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Not a physicist myself, but yes! It's how elephants keep track of the family over vast distances, with low notes humans weren't aware of until Katy Payne felt the infrasound vibrations from zoo elephants and published her study in the 1980s

[–] anon6789 6 points 3 days ago

What a small world the bioacoustics world seems to be!

I went to look her up, and saw the elephants came after studying whale sounds with her husband.

That reminded me of the guy that proved owls (barn owls specifically) can hunt in total darkness using their asymmetrical hearing. After I made this post going over the original study, someone recommended I share it with the bioacoustics community. Someone there told me that guy and his wife also did the ground breaking work with whales.

The Barn Owl / whale guy is Katy Payne's husband, Roger Payne! What a huge amount of discovery for a couple. They're like a non-irradiated version of the Curies mixed with Dr Doolittle!

[–] tamal3 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I once participated at a bird banding station that was set up for saw whet owls. To check their weight the birds were turned upside down in tiny tomato paste cans and put on a scale. They are so tiny when the floof gets compacted.

[–] anon6789 3 points 3 days ago

Haha yes, I've seen the canned owl in videos! I went to one last year but we didn't catch anything. Still got s'mores though and got to see some live birds and handle some specimens.

They're mainly feathers and eyeballs with some stuff attached to hold it all together. 😁

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

GHO for the win! 🤩

[–] anon6789 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

If ever an owl deserved to be called "Great", it's this one!

Vive le grand-duc d’Amérique!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

Vive tous les grands ducs !

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

ok I am a bit influenced by the americas best mascot here. I feel like the one on the left is going to tell me where I can get a great deal on eyeglasses.

[–] anon6789 3 points 3 days ago

Those mailers are so hard for me to pitch in the recycling! I usually let them sit around a few days. Marketing finds a way to get to everyone!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Classic Owl vs Pixar Owl

[–] anon6789 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Not Pixar, but there is a Disney/Titmouse movie this year based on the Saw Whet from the Rockefeller tree the other year!

I haven't gotten to see it yet.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Thanks for the reminder! I had forgotten about this.

[–] anon6789 1 points 3 days ago

That's what I'm here for!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Saw Wheat! Look at those big, wet eyes and nervous, on-the-verge demeanor

[–] anon6789 4 points 3 days ago

Not too many better for expressions!

Boreal is similar though but a bit rarer of an owl.

[–] anon6789 5 points 3 days ago

There isn't much chatter in the comments praising the White Faced Scops, but you guys sure are voting for it! Though there was a lot of vocal support for Spectacled, it was no match for the current champion.

Both Saw Whet and GHO have been maintaining a tally that comes close, whoever moves on from today's match is still going to need a peak showing if they want to dethrone the champ.