White Faced Scops walked into this tournament like a true champion, and none of its competition has yet to present much of a challenge. This owl just looks good. It's got the ears, it's got a prominent mustache, captivating orange eyes, and a trendy monochromatic color scheme. He's so far untouchable, but we've got a tiny owl coming in for a sneak attack!

The wee Saw Whet has been very accomplished these last two weeks. It's taken on the Barred Owl, the pescatarian Buffy Fish Owl, and it just out-greated the Great Horned Owl. This itty bitty owl has shown it's got big, big heart. It's small, it's expressive, it's got a lot of unique looks, and it's uncommon, but not as exotic to most of us as the Scops.

Will the Scops march unopposed to the finals, or has it finally met its match? Will the Saw Whet's winning streak keep going? I dunno, that's what you guys are here to tell me! Upvote your choice for the finals now!

#superbowl #owloftheyear2024

From World Bird Sanctuary

Owls, such as Uxmal the spectacled owl, have very large eyes to help with their excellent night vision.

Most owl eyes are around 5% of the bird's body weight. That might not sound like much, but human eyes are only 0.0003% of our body weight.

Owls have additional adaptations in their eyes that help make them the perfect nighttime predator. They can dilate their pupils incredibly wide to bring more light into the eyes, and they can even control how much each eye individually dilates.

Like humans, owls have cones to distinguish color and rods to detect light, however owls have significantly more rods to cones than humans. Behind an owl eye's rod-packed retina is another layer called the tapetum lucidum, which catches any light that may have passed through the retina and bounces it back to those sensitive rods.

All of these adaptations give these birds the perfect vision for hunting at night.

From Derek Deihl

The Winterberry Bared Owl, photographed in 2020 this wild bird was very photogenic providing crazy flight shots at point blank range.

Minnesota 2020

Up next is a pair of beautiful white (mostly) owls, the Snowy and the Barn.

Snowy, representing the "true owls" of family Strigidae, is coming right off a heated battle with Crested Owl that it only won with a 1 vote margin. Some have made it their mission this tournament to stop the attention seeking of Snowy and give someone else some time in the limelight. With that said, people around the world do love the Snowy and can't get enough of this beautiful bird!

Opposing the Snowy, from family Tytonidae, the Barn and Bay owls, is the eponymous Barn Owl. While some barn owls we know almost nothing about, the Tyto alba we're looking at today is one of the most studied owls, subject of many famous studies. They are found everywhere but Antarctica,and they don't do too well in extreme cold, so you can find them most anywhere, though coincidentally not in many if the same places as Snowy.

Both are tremendous owls, but we've only got one banner spot left, and one of these lovely birds has got to say goodbye. Which will it be? Upvote your favorite owl now!

#superbowl #owloftheyear2024

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

We're at the point of selecting our banner winners!

Here is your updated bracket and voting stats.

Some of the divisions are really getting heated and the difficulty for you guys has stepped up.

As always, I'm looking forward to seeing who your favorites will be!

Burrow and Crested fans have a lot of voting potential to either direct for or against some of the remaining owls.

From Mark Webb

Shorties in combat... this is as shot (apart from background noise reduction) in the most amazing light as the sky went dark and the owls were lit up by some sunlight.

From Baba-Vulic Aleksandar

Snowy Owl "Namaste"

This frame associated me with a yoga pose, as it looked like Owl was doing Sun Salutation, as she took a bow to the setting sun. In Owls world, that probably means similar to ours, just quite opposite since setting sun means that time for hunting has arrived. This bird certainly looks like she is enjoying her temporary visit to New England.

Massachusetts November 2024

From Ken Anderson

FBF to this past spring... finding a Great Honed Owl family living in a giant burnt tree.

Even the deadest of things in nature can be a source of life !

Eurasian Eagle Owl has already taken down the even bigger Blakiston's Fish Owl, and the tiny but adorable Flammulated Owl. Now it's got its eyes on a medium sized one: the Morepork! This robust and mighty owl is hard not to like. It's got much of the same great qualities of the Great Horned: massive, well patterned body, crushing talons rivaling the largest flighted birds, and a wonderful hoot.

Morepork has thus far only taken on other Southern Hemisphere owls, having stopped Australia's Barking Owl and Africa's Milky Eagle Owl. Representing the island nation of New Zealand and the fandom of Discworld, Morepork has had a great fan base this year. It even picked up some vegan support, running on it's meatless Maori name, Ruru. Will this silly little hawk owl be able to deal with the Eagle Owl?

Who will be the second banner owl and our next semi-finalist? Upvote your choice below!

#superbowl #owloftheyear2024

White Faced Scops has has an easier go of things so far than many other owls, being fairly unchallenged through the first two matches it's seen. Buff Fronted and Long Ear did their best, but couldn't lay a feather on WFS. While many typically popular owls have seemingly been passed over for something different, the Scops has balanced being popular while still being the perfect amount obscure.

Spectacled Owl on the other hand has done really well. It beat the wise old Grey Owl in the first match, and a surprise poor turnout for the Screech while Speck picked up some more support led to a second victory. It's loveable nerdy looks bring a different attitude the the gruff or silly looks of most other owls.

This match could really upend things if the champ gets bumped out. Whoever wins this is our first semi-finalist, and the first of the four owls to grace our banner for the next year. Who will you choose? Vote now!

#superbowl #owloftheyear2024

From Middle Tennessee Raptor Center

Remington enjoyed posing for pictures at the Christmas tree lighting this evening. Remi could have stayed all night but me on the other hand left before the tree was lit. I was freezing cold! 🥶