Looking Back: 2023 Year in Review
Looking Back: 2023 Year in Review
I wanted to do a yearend review, both for the new people, since this community has grown so consistently as time has moved on, and for those of us hoo have been here longer can remember some things we might have forget or missed the first time through. It's been fun sharing things with all of you every day, and I hope you've been able to grow your appreciation for our wild world, the animals and plants around us, each other, and our desire for knowledge and to better understand the place we live.
I'll break this down into sections in the comments to keep this in one thread but allow for easy comments, plus i can add more as I come up with it. I hope you enjoy this look back, and we'll all be getting busy soon with the holidays, so Happy New Year in advance to all of you.
Perfect photo pairing, 10/10 no notes
I was trying to think of a good title, Year in Review, Rewind, etc.
But I thought of all those extra cervical vertebrae and "Looking Back" came to me, and I knew the perfect kind of photo to look for!
Year-end review from my perspective:
anon6789 has been an absolute delight, posting an incredible amount of fun, interesting and varied content about owls and fostering wonderful community conversation. I'm pretty ambivalent about owls, but your enthusiasm is intoxicating.
You're the epitome of why I love the internet — it allows me access to wonderful nerds who care so much about stuff that it makes me care too. It's been a joy to learn along with everyone here.
(Edit: formatting)
Well I'm glad I'm able to capture your attention for a bit each day. My main goal is to get you a little more focused on the world around you. There are so many living things out there we don't personally know about or pay much mind to. But the more you get to know that hidden world, hopefully the more you will care about this world as a whole, and you'll seek positive change in how we treat the Earth.
Thank you for the very kind words. It means a lot to me that all of you take the time to see what I have to share, and especially when you take more time to comment. It's easy to scroll on, but when you take an active roll, no matter how small, you are helping build community.
Top Posts of the Year
Only looking at my own stuff here, we had some memes and such that have penetrated All. I'm also going to do a Least Upvoted and a Slept On section, so since I dont want to include anyone else's lowlights, all these are going to be just looking at my own content.
1
Owl-natomy: Feet and Talons
633 Upvotes, 83 Comments
Learning all about what makes the owls the radical raptors they are.2
Why don't I see any owls in my back yard?
383 Upvotes, 37 Comments
The effectiveness of owl camouflage.3
2023 Owl of the Year Winner!!! White Faced Scops Owl!!!
371 Upvotes, 53 Comments
Our first ever Champion is crowned!4
Where Tawny Owl fits, Tawny Owl sits!
305 Upvotes, 4 Comments
Just a cute pic of a Tawny Owl napping in a tree.5
2023 Owl of the Year FINALS! Snowy Owl vs White Faced Scops Owl
256 Upvotes, 55 Comments
The tension was high coming into the finale. Lots of great pics of both owls in here.Honorable mentions:
Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you to everyone here!
253 Upvotes
My personal thank you to all of you.Owl-natomy: Eye coloration
178 Upvotes
Basic primer to owl eye colors.Diversity of Saw Whet Owl Faces
159 Upvotes
Showing off the variety of facial features of this cute little owl. Not all owls, even of the same species, look the same!Top Slept On Posts
Things you should have clicked on, but didn't! 😜
Owl Monsters and Lore from around the world
28 Upvotes
Intro to spooky owl-creatures and bad/good luck myths about owls from countries around the world. This link is also referenced in the post and has many countries from around the world. I thought there was a lot of interesting things in here. With tens of thousands of years of humans telling owl tall tales, you should check this out.Owl Egg Hatching (Equipment and Potential Problems)
26 Upvotes
I learned so much from this video and she's got a few other good videos on her channel too. Egg hatching is much more complex than it seems on tv. It takes a long time and is full of danger for the unborn chick. I really think you should watch this!Meet the Owl-thor: Interview with Jennifer Ackerman
40 Upvotes
I've finally gotten to start reading this book, and it is so packed full of stuff! I'm writing down so many notes on things to talk about here! It doesn't seem to dive too deep on topics, which makes it a light read, and you'll learn lots without it being tooooo full of things it's overwhelming. A great jumping off point to learn more about the bits that catch your interest. I've listened to her talk on a few podcasts now, and she seems to be a good author on owls. Buy or read her book and check out this interview.Observations from an Owl Banding Event
98 Upvotes
Yes, we didnt catch any owls, but there are still education owls and some tools and techniques in here. Banding is one of the key ways we learn about most bird species because it is cheap and effective. Read about it here!Owl-natomy Mega Post: The Fabulous World of Feathers
135 Upvotes
Now, I wont guilt you guys by saying I haven't written any big articles since this because I felt it fell flat getting ooooonly 135 votes after the talon article got over 600, but I was so excited to post this and nobody cared. 😅 Not sure why this one didn't get the same reaction, but I learned a ton doing it. Maybe you all just missed it, but give it a look if you haven't seen it. Also, if you did read it but didn't care for it, let me know why. I'd do more articles like this for you, but I want to be sure you'll read them if I put a few hours into something.Most Controversial Posts
This is mostly for fun. This group getting any downvotes is puzzling to me.
Meme Template
12 Downvotes
No, I was not taking the group in a new direction, just having a bit of fun. I block just about all the meme subs, but I can still participate now and then.Owls in other languages
10 Downvotes
Surprised to see this on here. This was one of the first big comment threads we had, and probably where I first talked to a few of you who are regulars now. Most of these downvotes are probably because the majority of us in the US had never heard "twit twoo" before since we don't have Tawny Owls. Now we all wish we did have them!American Ornithological Society Will Change the English Names of Bird Species Named After People
8 Downvotes
Honestly, this has less than I expected. I see this as an environmental/conservationist group, since owls are often endangered animals suffering from climate change and habitat loss. I try to keep any preachiness to a minimum and avoid any words to trigger any "anti-woke" types. Yes, I disagree with you on almost everything policy-wise, but if you want to be polite and just look at pictures of cute owls, I welcome you here.Make a Wish
7 Downvotes
This is the only real surprise. Who downvotes the Make a Wish people?! The post is just a guy in a Hogwart's costume with a cute owl...My guess about the make-a-wish downvotes is that it has more to do with Harry Potter, and more specifically its author, who's been the subject of some controversy in recent years.
That's about the only thing I could think of, but it's not like she's involved directly in this context.
I was a bit older than the target audience when HP was coming out, but through friends and family I eventually became decently excited in the universe she created. If that was your childhood though, and then she came out as hateful to your existence, that's going to have a profound effect on you though for sure.
If you will do more owl-natomy posts (which I would love), then here are some ideas: Owl beaks, Owl necks and how they can turn their heads so well, The digestive system and how they can eat their prey whole.
For the last two I've found this article, which has something about both. I found it mainly interesting that it's apparently not just the number of cervical vertebrae that lets owls rotate their head so well.
Thanks for such a great year for my Owl knowledge!
That is a great article you linked! That's exactly the type of paper I want to do more "translation" of into more "regular" language.
The part about the cervical vertebrae was very helpful to me, it's one of the specific things I wanted to learn more about personally. I know a lot of the generalities, but I'm at the point where I want those specific and technical details. These papers are also about the only places to find pictures of this niche anatomy.
I have mentioned crops before, I think when I've highlighted vultures, and I've kinda avoided pellets, but I do want to do them anyway. I have gotten to see a Great Horned Owl expel her pellet. It's more like a burp than a cat with a hairball.
I'll add those things to the list!
Least Upvoted Posts
These were all pretty early posts. We had probably around a third the subscribers we had now and there weren't many posts, so this section probably doesn't mean much this year. Mainly here for my own interests and a snapshot of how slow this place used to be.
1
Chaco Owl
14 Upvotes
My beloved Chaco Owl photo. Meeting this little dude was one of the things that really jumpstarted my love of owls. From the Carloina Raptor Center in North Carolina.2
Del-owl-ware Great Horned Owlet
18 Upvotes
Near the beginning of the 50 States of Owls. We had some image server issues, so it got posted originally with no image, the secret to getting no upvotes!3
Spectacled Owl
19 Upvotes
My photo of a Spectacled Owl from the Cincinnati Zoo. This guy and the Chaco are the rarest owls I've seen in person.Future Post Ideas
-Article about using specially trained dogs to find owls in the wild-Review of Jennifer Ackerman's "What an Owl Knows"
-Article about Roger Payne's 1970 study of Barn Owl hearing
-Ageless Ears, a German study about how owls do not lose their ability to hear with age
-Owl taxonomy, the owl family tree
-Studies of more scientific journal papers
-Owl-natomy: Neck / Beak / Digestion
Top 50 States of Owls Posts
This was a big project. Some tiny states have a surprisingly high number or resources, and some big states have surprisingly few! All the rescues and hospitals are funded solely from donations, none get any public funds. If possible, make a donation of time, money, or supplies to your local place. You will be surprised where you will find them. Most aren't open to the public, so they're hidden away.
I know at least one of you has told me these posts inspired them to sign up for a volunteer class. These posts were very important to me, becuase I want you to see owls in person to gain a greater appreciation and closeness with them so you are inspired to care about them and their environment.
1
Barn Owl from Mass-owl-chusetts... or is it MassacHOOsetts?
150 Upvotes
Barn Owl2
Cute little devil from Wy-owl-ming
149 Upvotes
Short Eared Owl - This lil one is extra cute!3
Some Screechies from New Mexic-hoo
146 Upvotes
Pair of Western Screech OwlsReminders to myself on things to add to this:
Recap of Owl of the YearFuture Post IdeasTop 50 States of Owl Posts- Whatever else I think of !
Thank you so much @anon6789!! Your posts have been so much fun and so very informative! Your hard work and care are very appreciated! 🦉❤️
It's always great to hear people are enjoying them. I feel it's important to have positive things to look forward to, and to always keep learning. Let me know if there's anything specific you want me to cover!