Bird Art Auction Madness: Reflections and Recaps
By Marjorie Powell
Many years ago, when my husband and I were first living together, we went to a country auction and came home with seven items that we frankly did not need, all because we could not resist bidding. After that fiasco, I established a firm rule. No auctions! It’s true that the double wrench set we got that day was very useful when we owned our own homes. And yes, we used a waffle iron we bid on until it wore out. But the other items were never used and eventually disappeared. I made an exception to my rule this year. The GGBA bird art auction was “different.”
After all, both GGBA and this art auction was my life-line to the birds as we all sheltered in place.
Birdathon fundraising activities were canceled because of Covid. I was involved in some of the discussions about whether (and how) GGBA might recoup vital revenue needed for programs like habitat restoration and Eco-Ed. We decided to have an online auction just of art related to birds. I was on a mission to help any way I could. I reached out to a few artists whose bird art I have. One of those artists passed the information on to another artist who agreed to participate, splitting the final sale price of her painting 50/50 with GGBA.
After much work by GGBA volunteers and staff, the auction site went live! I looked at all the art, thinking about which pieces I liked. Then I glanced sheepishly at my walls, covered in art of various sorts, much of it with specific memories that made those art pieces special, some of it art of birds. Then I looked at the website again, and decided that I should buy one of the “Buy It Now” items as a holiday gift. And, of course, a packet of bird greeting cards for myself.

And perhaps another item after that. You can see why I established my “No Auctions” rule a long time ago.
Over the next days, I kept checking the auction website, deciding which pieces I might actually bid on. Dona Reed’s Yellow-headed Blackbirds were fun.

I remember where I first saw Yellow-headed Blackbirds in person at Washoe Lake north of Carson City, Nevada, one summer when my husband and I were staying at Lake Tahoe.…