By MOLLY DAVIDSON / Staff Writer

PELHAM—Meet Alabama’s native birds of prey and check some items off of your holiday shopping list during the Alabama Wildlife Center’s Holiday Craft and Bake Sale on Saturday, Dec. 13, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Veterans Park in Hoover.

“We’ll have a great collection of one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted items for your holiday shopping,” AWC Executive Director Doug Adair said.

In addition to nature themed handmade items, there will be an assortment of baked goods, including cakes, breads, pies, cookies and casseroles, Adair added.

Throughout the day children can take a picture with Santa, make crafts to take home and meet some of the AWC’s education ambassadors, such as the “crowd pleaser” Coosa, a barred owl; Natchez, a Mississippi kite; and Legacy, an American kestrel.

“We may also have a patient who is a great horned owl,” Adair said. This great horned owl was the first baby bird the AWC took in for care during baby bird season this year, and although she has been brought back to help, Adair said the nature of her injures may not allow her to be fully released into the wild.

Several Birds of Prey educational programs will be held during the Dec. 13 event to educate all attendants about Alabama’s native raptors.

Located in Oak Mountain State Park, the AWC is a nonprofit organization that treats nearly 2,000 birds from more than 100 species each year. The AWC also maintains Treetop Nature Trail and presents educational programs to schools and visitors.

“Simply to provide the care that we do and the educational programs that we provide, we depend on funding from events like this craft sale,” Adair said. “All of the shopping and all of this holiday cooking preparation can be taken care of while helping a wonderful cause.”

Proceeds from the Holiday Craft and Bake Sale will help the AWC continue to treat birds while also work towards completing several ongoing projects, such as upgrading signage at Treetop Nature Trail and upgrading the exhibits at the headquarters in OMSP.

“We’re working on a very substantial project to upgrade our visitor experience at our headquarters,” Adair said. “We’re planning on upgrading our exhibits, and not only our educational content, but our fun quotient as well.”

For more information about the AWC and the Holiday Craft and Bake Sale, visit Awrc.org.