Happy new year anon! Thank you so much for all you do for this instance, this sub wouldn't be what it is without you! Will be looking forward to more owly goodness in 2026 and hope you have a great start to the year!
this post was submitted on 31 Dec 2025
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It has been another wild year here at Superbowl, and it's time to take a look back at all we've accomplished together this year!
As for our community itself, we've passed 5000 subscribers in September and are almost to 5400, so it looks like this year's Owl of the Year was a great recruiting push once again.
We won the Lemmy.world Lemmy Silver event, netting my wildlife clinic a nice €150 cash prize to support our owl patients.
Owl of the Year had some extremely tense matches this year, and the result is our first large owl to get the title, Buffy Fish Owl! The new banners and images have been up for a bit now, but if the way you access Superbowl doesn't show you that, here they are.
Banner
Icon
Sidebar
I've ordered the new OotY donation tile in the community's name. Here's the mockup for now:
They changed the charity network this year, so there was some confusion if the character limit had changed from prior years, so I'm not exactly sure which we will get.
Speaking of the clinic, after 2 years of donating to them in honor of Owl of the Year, my ongoing interest in owls and bringing you guys owl facts got me to volunteer this year, and it's been life changing! I've met so many great people, helped a ton of animals get another chance at life, and learned so much. I've gotten to handle owls, of course, but also squirrels, flying squirrels, rabbits, about a dozen kinds of songbirds, and opposums. I've also fed raccoons, foxes, and a few types of hawk and a heron. And this coming year, I should be able to with with even more animals as long as my rabies antibody test comes back at a safe level. I even got to release a rehabbed Screech Owl at my house for my wife's birthday!
I usually share some specific goals for the next year, but I don't know if I have anything specific right now. This year has gone about as well as I could hope, sharing things with you all here. I much around the idea of expanding into covering other raptors, but the owls already keep me pretty busy, and I feel I'd have to do less owl stuff to get started on another thing. I think leaving that energy for IRL animal work or my other hobbies is more healthy for me.
Finally, let's look at my top posts of the year, and also a few good ones you may have missed. Honestly, there weren't too many this year that got less upvotes than expected. You all have been a really great and attentive bunch!
Top Posts by Me:
A Farewell to Zeus, The Owl with Galaxy Eyes
Would you like a large or small today?
A Word in Lobbying Efforts of Poison Manufacturers
Rare reddish-orange Snowy Owl in Huron County captivates birdwatchers
I've heard of close-ups, but this is ridiculous!
What You May Have Missed:
The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated...
Watch That First Step! Baby owl survives 100ft / 30m fall
30 Way to Describe an Owl According to Kenojuak Ashevak
Traversing Russia's Remote Taiga in Pursuit of the Blakistons Fish Owl
Well, I hope you've had even half as much fun here as I have this year! For many reasons, this has felt like one very long year, but having you all here every day to share something fun with has been hugely impactful and positive for me.
Feel free to share any of your favorite owl moments!
Happy New Year to you also! Your pictures are wonderful and I hope to see more from you in the future too!
Best 2025 review, that‘s for sure! Thank you so much for your content (esp. Owl Of The Year contest). However, you forgot to insert the mockup, it just says: [Insert photo here]
Thank you! Owl of the Year is a huge project, but it's such a great thing for the community. It's always a surprise every day how it plays out.
I'm going to have to just take a crappy photo of the OotY tile for now. It's on my work laptop, which seems to have lost wifi with an update yesterday.
It’s been a great year to spend with this wholesome community. All thanks to you, @anon6789@lemmy.world, who makes the world better and brighter with your engagement, passion and positive contributions.
Happy New Year!
I know there's a non-zero number of people that don't even necessarily like owls or birds that come here just because we keep this a plain ol' fun space.
Even I came here mostly liking owls as a concept, but look at me now! 😅
Your interest in my interest has really grown it into something tangible.
Happy New Year!
Thanks for the newsletter and pics! I'm so glad you can interact with the animals irl, I live vicariously thru ppl like you 💜
You're very welcome. I love getting to share everything with you all.
It is really an amazing experience every time. Being around wild animals is such a different thing than being around domestic animals or those raised by humans.
I will keep sharing all I learn with you guys!
Love the new banner, sidebar, and especially the icon! HNY all!
I have to keep our OotY pleased!
The colors of the main banner I thought were really good. It has a great color gradient. I believe it is somewhere in Thailand.