The Seasons of the Robin

Mildred Wyatt-Wold Series in Ornithology

by Don Grussing

In a small nest in a large oak tree, the drama begins. A young American Robin breaks open his shell and emerges into a world that will provide the warmth of sunny days and the life-threatening chill of cold, rainy nights; the satisfaction of a full stomach and the danger of sudden predator attacks; and the chance to mature into an adult robin who'll begin the cycle of life all over again come next spring. In The Seasons of the Robin, Don Grussing tells the uncommon life story of one of the most common birds, the North American Robin. Written as fiction to capture the high drama that goes on unnoticed right outside our windows, the book follows a young male robin through the first year of life. From his perspective, we experience many common episodes of a bird's life—struggling to get out of the egg; awkwardly attempting to master flight; learning to avoid predators; migrating for the first time; returning home; establishing a territory; finding a mate; and beginning the cycle again. This creative approach of presenting natural history through a fictional, yet factually based, story allows us to experience the spine-tingling, nerve-wracking, adrenaline-flowing excitement that is so much a part of the life of every wild thing. As Don Grussing concludes in his preface, "Once you experience the world through a robin's eyes, I hope you'll look at every wild thing with new appreciation and respect for what they accomplish by living."

Genres: Nonfiction

158 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Danielhaycox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably the most engaging scientific book you will read, and a good reminder that the animals we see around us are the lucky and strong ones, each with their own story.

Like Bambi, this is a story of one year in an animal's life. However, the characters in this book spend no time pondering life, man, or family. In fact, the unnamed protagonist robin forgets his mother and friends the second they are no longer useful to his survival. Such brutal accuracy to the behavior of real animals is the trend throughout this book, which creates some distance between the human reader and the nonpersonified "characters" of the robins whose emotional lives are quite minimal. However, this accuracy gives an glimpse into the life of an average robin with an incredible amount of detail. You'll learn much about robin behavior, ending the book with a great appreciation for the feats of survival accomplished by a relatively common bird. Yet since this info is laid out narratively, it never feels stale and was a quick, engaging read.

The book overall has an ominous tone, as death is a reality throughout the robin's life. Grussing has an enjoyable habit of cutting away to reveal the fates of the other birds the robin meets along his journey, most of which do not end well. It feels like skipping ahead in a "choose your own adventure" book to see what would have happened if the robin had chosen a different path, which helps you realize the fragility of animal life and how much is purely based on luck.

Mankind, usually a tyrannical, mysterious enemy in most animal literature, is reduced to charming old duffers in this book, with most of the humans offering laughably incorrect quips about robin life, yet still aiding the robins with handouts of food.

[Matthew Karns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice read on the life of an American Robin from the robin's POV. I would recommend this book for anyone who loves birds.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a charming book and (almost) part of my 2011 summer of reading nature books. It follows a single robin through his first five seasons, a natural history in narrative form.

At times it left me a bit unengaged, and I was hungry to know which things were completely typical and which were things that happened to just this bird in particular. But I enjoyed it, although only a few bits linger with me now. Here's an interesting quote:

"As the flock climbed, he found it easy to maintain his place with the other birds. One aid to staying with the flock was wing noise. A couple of times he drifted off to one side, but he could easily detect that he was getting away from the other robins because the sound and feel of their wing beats became less intense. Robins fly with deep, powerful strokes, but the beats of their wings are not constant--that is, there is a delay in their wing beats, which permits them to hear the sounds of the other birds in the flock while migrating and thus helps them maintain their place with the other birds"

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This informative novel taught me a lot about robins. Grussing follows a young male robin from hatching through his first year without anthropomorphizing the bird. I learned a lot about robins and now appreciate more the robins in my yard. I read this for my bird club book club.