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.
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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
Intake Exam Procedures
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!
Birds feel so fragile (even the big ones) but can require some intense care. Their very non-mammalian anatomy can even make feeding them tricky, and the babies need to eat every hour.
I have so. Much respect for the sacrifices of the actual licensed rehabbers. It's a literal 24/7 job and so many areas are underserved it's a massive workload. We did I think 4000+ animals this year with just 2 rehabbers and us volunteers.