Whoooo is the MVP of Save Our Seabirds' owlery?

City Island's bird rescue center called on community members to help decide which of its feathered friends would take the title.

By Dana Kampa
| 2:30 p.m. February 10, 2026

There was some tough competition in this year's Superb Owl "Most Valuable Predator" contest. Wanda, one of the bird rescue's resident barred owls, won the title of "Best Defense."

Longboat Key
Neighbors

With sports on everyone's mind last week, Save Our Seabirds took the opportunity to enlist community members to help decide which of its resident owls would be the 2026 MVP — Most Valuable Predator, that is.

On Facebook, the City Island-based bird rescue facility hosted a week-long "Superb Owl" competition among its feathery inhabitants.

The rescue houses three species of owls: four barred owls, three Eastern screech owls and three great horned owls.

Day one of the competition crowned Wanda the Best Defense. On day two, Archimedes won the Best Tackle title. On day three, the trio of Eastern screech owls won for Best Team.

Save Our Seabirds' trio of Eastern screech owls won the 2026 Best Team title in the Superb Owl competition by popular vote.

It was tight competition among them heading into the fourth and final day. The three finalists, including the team of screech owls, were up for the ultimate MVP title on Friday.

Through tallies of comments and reactions to the posts, Save Our Seabirds named Wanda the barred owl the "Most Valuable Predator."

Executive Director Brian Walton said the light-hearted competition was a fun way to spotlight the variety of birds SOS gives a home.

While Florida's iconic flamingos, herons, pelicans and spoonbills capture the attention of many bird watchers, the state is also home to many other bird species, including five year-round resident owls.

The great horned owl pictured is one of three owl species Save Our Seabirds houses.

In addition to the three species viewable at Save Our Seabirds, barn owls and burrowing owls can be found here.

Lisa Wood, director of outreach and education, said she was inspired by a simple typo of a certain football event. What came from it was a friendly competition that she said was the perfect mix of silly yet educational.

For next year's celebration, the SOS team is hoping to go big for a totally "owlsome" event.

"Overall, my hope is that folks will notice the work we do through lighthearted moments like this, and perhaps will want to get more involved in animal welfare and environmentalism," Wood said.

author

Dana Kampa

Dana Kampa is the Longboat Key neighbors reporter for the Observer. She first ventured into journalism in her home state of Wisconsin, going on to report community stories everywhere from the snowy mountains of Washington State to the sunny shores of the Caribbean. She has been a writer and photographer for more than a decade, covering what matters most to readers.