7th Annual "Nuts And Berries" Fundraiser For The Wildlife Care Association (WCA)

This WCA volunteer described himself as "An Owl From The 1970's." I still remember the 1970's. I think I remember this owl too (which reminds me of the old saw that if you can remember the 1960's you weren't really there).


On Sunday evening, I went to the Lion's Gate Hotel at McClellan Park for the 7th annual "Nuts And Berries" fundraising event for the Wildlife Care Association (WCA). This is the first time I've attended any WCA fundraising event.

The WCA are the first responders in the Sacramento region when injured or stranded wildlife are picked up by people. They have veterinarians and other volunteers working with them who stabilize, heal, and release birds and other animals back into the wild. Animals often have eccentric health needs and diets that make them a challenge for average people to care for, but the WCA folks have experience in these matters (my fledgling Scrub Jay encounters over the last four years have led me to their important work). I also brought over an assortment of blankets and flannel bed sheets to lay under their Christmas Tree for donation.

The "Nuts And Berries" fundraiser features an enormous Silent Auction - the biggest Silent Auction I have ever seen! Baskets and boxes of donated merchandise are assembled by volunteers and packaged into pleasing bundles for purchase.

I really wanted this stuffed penguin featured for raffle (it looks like a life size Hoiho penguin from New Zealand), but alas, fate conspired to send a nice Christmas Basket to me instead.

I also purchased two boxes, plus jewelry, and a handsome vase. I purchased more than was prudent, but that is what one does for worthy organizations!

I admired a nice sculpture secured by one woman's successful bid. My memory was that the sculpture was one of the most-sought after items at the Silent Auction. The woman demurred, and said only three bids were offered, but I noted that that number of offers exceeded most. In her opinion, people just weren't making many bids this year, due to penny-pinching tendencies in the recession, but my take was that there was such a bounty of merchandise being offered that there just weren't enough people available to purchase it all. So, competition was thin, but it also meant you could purchase almost what you wanted (it's true, I missed out on the 1000-piece duck jigsaw puzzle, but I did get the Eagle box instead, which was quite handsome).

At one point, I was cornered by two DMTC Season Ticket holders, who asked me what I was doing there. I explained "I like birds." They smiled and released me back into the wild of the "Nuts and Berries" event.

WCA bird enthusiast Doug Forbes brought this leucistic crow for everyone to admire (leucism is one step short of albinism - the bird can't produce BLACK pigmentation). The bird's distinctive whitish appearance renders it too vulnerable for release back into the wild.