Wow, yesterday’s games were the most intense ever in OotY history! Both matches were neck and neck all day. I had no idea what to prepare for, so this is going to be a little short.

Congrats to this year’s final 4 owls: White Faced, Buffy, Screech, and Snowy.

I’m going to do the first semi-final today and the other tomorrow.

You know the competition well at this point. White Face is former OotY from 2023. Buffy has been a strong opponent in all 3 seasons, and has now made it to the last stop before the final match. Both have very fun and loveable looks, so it may still be a hard choice, but it’s what we’re here for.

So take your time, think it over, and upvote your first finalist now!

    • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
      3·
      27 days ago

      Same! They’ve been my favorite owl this year.

      This is another tough things I’ve been learning about myself during OotY this year. I’ve been a little looser with my commentary during the games, but besides appearing biased, I don’t want to sound like I’m lecturing people and seem annoying.

      It’s not as much a “you should have voted for this” but more of asking myself out loud “what can I do to get them more excited about x?” It’s not like Barn Owl awareness is a problem. I’ve highlighted the reeeeeally white ones, a bunch of more unusual colored ones, extra spotty ones, how to tell males from females (which isn’t very common for owls to be able to do).

      As pretty much a 1 person show most of the time, I don’t really have opportunities for behind the scenes chats about this stuff, but it’s on my mind whine doing OotY and seeing how you all as a collective react to things in a comparative way.

      Barnies have a bit of a unique look, but it’s the result of being highly specialized for hearing, and that’s why so many studies have been done with them. A ton of our understanding about owls has come from studying Barn Owls, so how do I get you guys pumped over that instead of being “cool, but can you show me another Scops now?”