LOWER LAKE, Calif. – What makes birders get up early to walk through the woods or tromp through wet fields? Why do we drive a hundred miles to catch a glimpse of a rare species? Why do we keep the feeder full?

On Thursday, Jan. 21, speaker David Rice will answer these questions for the Redbud Audubon Society with his book “Why We Bird.”

Published in 2013 by Golden Gate Audubon, the book organizes a lifetime of birding experiences into insightful short essays on the allure and attraction of birding.

There are as many reasons to bird as there are bird lovers. Rice discusses seven reasons why we bird: flight, song, color; identifications; games; surprises; conservation; stories; and solace.

Rice’s book is a collection of stories: birding with a friend after he gets dementia; telling a grandson about owls; analyzing a great misidentification; listening to cranes; chasing rare birds, pelagic birds, and life birds; canoeing on Christmas Counts; and more.

“Why We Bird” differs from other birding books because it focuses directly on why we bird. “Why We Bird” also is a tour of many of the top birding spots in California, from Tule Lake to the Salton Sea.

Rice’s birding resume includes conducting censuses for two breeding bird atlases, co-leading a Golden Gate Audubon Society (GGAS) birding backpack trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park for 30-plus years and finding at least 150 birds in each of California's 58 counties.

He was on the board of directors of GGAS in the 1980s, and is a co-author of the Alameda County Breeding Bird Atlas. He works as a psychologist in private practice and lives in Berkeley.

Join the Redbud Audubon Chapter for an enjoyable evening.

As always, the programs are free and open to the public.

Refreshments will be served beginning at 7 p.m. with the program at 7:15 p.m. at our the group's new location, the Methodist Church Social Hall, 16255 Second St. in Lower Lake.

The hall is across the parking lot from the Methodist Church. If you are coming through Lower Lake, turn left on Lake Street and then right on Second St. The church is on the right.

The group felt that moving the meetings to the south end of the county for half of the year is a way to accommodate all of the Redbud Audubon members countywide.