From Jason Painter

Snowy owls Indian lake Ohio 11-29-2024.

From Robin Lowry

Meet Mystic the Barn Owl!

During our recent studio workshop, Mystic stole the show, spreading those gorgeous wings to catch the light just right. With a simple setup, we achieved this beautiful effect of light streaming through her wings, creating a magical moment.

We explored a few more unique setups throughout the day, and managed to capture a few more shots. I can't wait to share once I've sorted through them! Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes glimpses of our workshop!

Eurasian Eagle did well against the Blakiston's Fish Owl in a bit of an upset if we looked at how these 2 fared last time. Though not as related as once thought, the EEO is still one of the biggest, toughest owls left in the game.

The Flammulated fans from last year don't seem as impassioned this time around. It beat Dusky, but by a slim margin of 2 votes. They're going to need to show up today if they want Flammy's name emblazoned on the prize this year.

The Eagle Owl is a manifestation of power. It's bold, rugged, and intimidating. If the Snowy continues its surge in the voting, the Eagle could be one that could stop it. It's got a lot of like characteristics, and could steal enough votes to get to the finals.

Flammulated is quite another story. It's small. It's brightly patterned, but still feels restrained, and it's not going to intimidate anyone much larger than its dinner. But this little one speaks to something ancient and primordial. It looks as old as the trees themselves. It captures the mystery of the woods.

Are you feeling big, brash, and confident, or does a more quiet and restrained persona capture your sense of what a top owl should be? Upvote the one you like below!

#superbowl #owloftheyear2024

Speck did well in its first match, with a solid win over the Great Grey. This handsome and intelligent looking owl really won the crowd over.

Meanwhile, Screech Owl has a bit of a rocky start for a returning final 4 owl. The Philippine Scops and its nebula eyes almost took its place. Maybe just early round jitters?

The Spectacled and the Screech are significantly different from each other. Speck had been featured from time to time, especially the one from Suffolk Owl Sanctuary. It seems to be doing a bit better here then it normally does.

The Screech is very popular. I don't think we've likely ever gone a week without a Screech Owl or two. We like it awake, we like it sleepy, we like it angry. But have we gotten bored with this little one?

Who are you going to choose? You've got 2 good choices here. Upvote your favorite now!

#superbowl #owloftheyear2024

My girlfriend's mother just passed unexpectedly this week. She hasn't updated her will since the mid 80s, she had no medical directive, and seemingly did not have her life insurance long enough that they would cover anything, they are just refunding what she has paid to the present.

This has us both thinking about getting ourselves set up properly just in case. We haven't paid it much mind until now as we don't have all that much, and no kids, but now that we are seeing the difficulty not having those things brings when people least need added stress, we want to start pursuing it.

What have you done to prepare your family for these types of events and how did you determine what sort of insurance and plans you needed for your situation. Also have you ever either had to deal with a relative leaving no plans behind, or did someone do something that made the situation much easier?

Here is an end of round 1 update.

Also charted the scores high to low for anyone curious.

Which victory were you most happy about?

Which owl got robbed of a deserved win?

Did any new owls surprise you?

Who is your overall favorite to win as of now?

From Nelson Filipie

The sweetness and harmony surprisingly close and undisturbed.

Barn Owl

(Tyto alba)

Lisbon - Portugal

From Sue Kee

Just when you think they're hiding from you, the grass blows clear.

Short-eared Owl

From UM Raptor Center

If you can't break some records in your 50th year of operation, when can you?

On Sunday, December 8th, 2024, TRC admitted patient number 1059, officially making this year's patient census the highest in our history. Our record-breaking patient isa hatch-year barred owl experiencing severe head trauma after a suspected car strike. Our big-eyed friend is resting with pain medications and is receiving oxygen as we monitor its neurological symptoms during this critical period of early care.

With every uptick in yearly admissions comes the question: Why are you seeing more birds? The answer is the culmination of multiple factors.

Our education ambassadors have inspired more than 1,000,000 members of the public over 50 years resulting in more calls reporting raptors in need each year.

TRC has a growing network of transport volunteers who provide a raptor "ambulance" service, escorting birds from across Minnesota and from a few surrounding states to the Center's hospital.

There might simply be more injured raptors in general. With a host of collaborators, we have saved raptor species and supported population growth. While the rate of injury might technically be similar, increased populations could mean an equal increase in injuries.

Another growing population is playing a role in the steady increase of bird admissions: people. TRC regularly admits patients injured due to car strikes, window collisions, and entrapment in objects such as chimneys and sports netting; others are admitted following poisoning with lead or rodenticides. The list of ways people impact the health of raptors and our shared environment is extensive.

As biodiversity is threatened, there are consequences such as the emergence of new disease threats. These cause temporary influxes in patient admissions and contribute to a consistent upward trend over time.

There is a lot of work to do, but when reflecting on all that TRC has collectively achieved in its first 50 years of serving raptors, it's clear the next 50 can tip the scale in shifting the human impact on the environment from negative to positive and leave a better world for generations of both people and raptors to come.

We have a duo of strangely named and atypical looking owls for you here. They're both the largest native owls of their respective homelands - the Milky because it is huge, and the Morepork because... default...it's the only native owl.

Milky is big, pale, with sad eyes and unique pink eyelids. Morepork is small, a deep brown, and a skinny hawk owl head that makes those eyes look a little bit crazy.

Which kind of unique are you? They're both really special, but which charms your inner freaky side the most? Upvote your pick below!

White Faced Scops kicked off the tournament with a bang. Even as the first matchup, it garnered an easy win with one of the highest scores so far. Its popularity does not seem to be diminished at all.

Long Eared Owl squeezed out a win against the tiny terror that is the Elf Owl. LEO is doing alright, but it's going to have to toughen up to beat the reigning champ.

Both owls are very nicely colored, they have great plumicorns, lovely orange eyes, and are capable of a wide range of expressions.

Is it still "long live the king," or are you looking for a change? Upvote your favorite!

From Xiang T Zhang

This summer, a pair of Barn Owls nested in a barn house at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge in Ohio and hatched eight owlets. Refuge staff installed a camera near the nest, streaming live footage of the nest on YouTube.

The life for this owl family has not been easy. One day, while both the owl parents were out hunting, an intruding Barn Owl broke into the nest and killed one of the owlets.

Later, the mother owl also disappeared. With the help of the refuge staff, the father owl successfully raised the remaining seven owlets.

In the middle of July, the owlets started to go outside. I went there a few times to photograph the owlets. It was quite challenging. The young owls sleep during the day and only start being active about 15 minutes after sunset, by which time the light is already very dim.

I used a 400mm F2.8 lens and had to use a very slow shutter speed to barely manage taking photos.