This is it, my good people! We have come to the final match of this year’s games. There have been many upsets, many new winners, and today we have a pair of wonderful owls that have paid their dues, taken some lumps, and after 3 seasons, have made it to this point.
Buffy has defeated Pygmy, Morepork, Eagle Owl, and the original champion, White Faced.
Screech surpassed Tawny Fish, the amazing eyebrows of the Crested Owl, last year’s winner the Saw Whet, and finally the Snowy.
That’s a lot of superb owls that have been unable to slow this pair down.
Let’s review some stats of our combatants!
Buffy
Height: 16-19 inches / 40-48 cm
Weight: 2,3-4.6 pounds / 1028-2100 grams
Wingspan: 48 inches / 120 cm
Diet: Fish, crabs, frogs, reptiles, birds, insects
Unique Traits: Build less focused on stealth and hearing. Lacks silent flight feathers and has less developed facial disc, giving it a more spherical face. Has a hawk-like call. Large floppy plumicorns. Only lay a single egg per year.
Eastern Screech
Height: 6.5-10 inches / 16-25 cm
Weight: 0.26-0.53 pounds / 121-244 grams
Wingspan: 16 inches / 40 cm
Diet: Rodents, Insects, Birds
Unique Traits: Highly adaptable and opportunistic allows them to live remotely or among humans. Cavity nester. Flexible diet changes with the seasons. Available in grey, red, or brown. Highly effective camouflage. Fast (for an owl) flyer. Some beautiful vocalizations. Also well-plumicorned. Lays 3-4 eggs annually.
Both owls are very distinct, so with many different aspects to compare, neither likely has an inherent advantage. Buffy comes in with a slightly higher average score (51) but hasn’t faced off against anything much like the Screech, other than White Faced, where it only won by a single vote.
Screech has an average score of 45, but has a huge win over Tawny Fish Owl, very similar to Buffy, where it won by a healthy margin (42-32). Buffy has a bit more of an established reputation compared to Tawny, so that could even things back out.
But numbers don’t matter, old matches don’t matter, this is all about the here and now!
Take a fine eye to these wonderful photos now, scour every minute detail, and see which of these owls deserves to take home the final victory and the covered OotY title.
Make your last upvotes now for your 2025 Owl of the Year!
This is it!! The Superbowl of Superbowls!
What a season! We saw some fascinating play by Verreaux’s Owl who racked up big wins but in the end couldn’t pull it off over more established owls. Some heartbreakers like my boys The Burrowings but hey, sometimes it’s just not your year, y’know?
And fan favorite Ruru shook up the world in that round but, alas, had to give way to our eventual finalists. Not to mention Barnies, GHO, EEO, LHO, SEO! All so worthy, but like they say in baseball: Post-season is a crapshoot!
So here we are with a can’t-lose slate! The venerable Screechie - hero, prankster, guardian of that little notch in the oak. Romantic, comfortable, in multiple flavors with just a soupçon of goofiness that the kids love. Who wouldn’t love them as OotY? They’re a natural!
But for me, this is Buffy’s year. I’ll be honest, I’d never seen a Buffy Fish (that I’m aware of) before their appearances on superbowl, but wow - what an owl! Part lumberjack, part daffy mad scientist, part inscrutable mystery! Living on their own terms out in Buffy Fishlandia so far the photogs can barely find them - and when they finally get the shot - click - the expression is like he got caught farting while bending over! Can you not relate?! They’re not afraid of jumping right in there - they’ll take on a crab, hell yeah they will, and a fish or two to go! Shake off the river and enjoy some good food before turning in, another good day’s work. The Buffy Fish Owl! Yeah!
Thank you anon6789, this is the best thing Lemmy’s seen!
Buffy to me looks like a “know-it-all” teenager you’ll never get through to, but they’ll figure out their own way. They’re fish owls!? Why do they look so confused wet.
They try not to get wet. Owls aren’t waterproof in the way most birds are so they look a bit unusual when they do get wet.
Hah, beautiful! I love it!
The excitement you guys get makes it all worth it.
Ruru still had the highest vote count before the finale, but both our finalists here are going to top that shortly. It’s been a tournament of exciting surprises. We had six new owls make it to round 2, and a few made big leaps up or down in average score.