You’ve waited for it, and now it is here: your 2025 OotY lineup!

There look to be many competitive races right off the bat. There’s an amazing assortment of owl type from around the globe, and in the third year, we’ve really refined the list of owls down to some of the best. Both halves of the bracket seem balanced, and no owl has what I feel is an easy path forward. This may be our best tournament ever!

My goal is to start the games Monday Dec 1 with White Face / Buff Fronted and Spectacled / Black and White.

In the meanwhile, take a look at the bracket and tell me which matches have you excited/anxious. Which are going to be the toughest for you? Who has the best chance of winning? Do you see one who you think is going to come out of nowhere? Will Saw Whet or White Face win again, or are we going to see a new champ crowned? Whatever your thoughts, let’s hear them!

  • Masterkraft0r
    3·
    2 months ago

    there is not much in my life that i loved and hated with this much passion at the same time. i love what you doing and hate you for it. please keep doing what you do, you beautiful human

    • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
      3·
      2 months ago

      Trust me, I feel much the same way! 😁

      I spend 2 hours a day prepping the 2 posts, with my lede time getting shorter each round, for you to tell me how the one I like best sucks and instead you vote for some obscure owl that is impossible to find pics of for yet another round while I have to bite my tongue on why you so are dead wrong! Then I have to reply to everyone’s comments like we’re still friends after what you just did to me.

      But yet I love Owl of the Year and think it’s one of the greatest and most unique things on Lemmy and will gladly say let’s do this again next year.

      I’m seriously glad you guys have fun with this and look forward to it months ahead of time. It’s a real pain in the ass, but it really amplifies the best things about this community. I can tough it out for 2 weeks or so for that. I want you to love your native birds and those around the world and to get you to care about them and their environments. They’re awesome creatures, but then again, so are we sometimes!