The Heart of the Valley would die en route the following year. Her offspring also migrated though five of them also died but the one raised by the dunnocks survived. The mother dunnock died the following winter during a cold spell and was eaten by a fox. The surviving male dunnock mated the following year and had six offspring. The story ends with the writer taking a walk in the valley. The author once narrowly missed hitting a bird whilst driving to a railway station. On the train journey he imagined what might have happened if he hit the bird and it became the starting
Common shelduck rabbit burrows, tree holes, haystacks or similar. In winter it is common on suitable estuaries and tidal mudflats as well. This bird is one of the species to which the "Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds" (AEWA) applies. The young will dive under water to avoid predators and the adults will fly away from them to act as a decoy. Common shelduck The common shelduck ("Tadorna tadorna") is a waterfowl species of the shelduck genus, "Tadorna". It is widespread and common in Eurasia, mainly breeding in temperate and wintering in subtropical regions; in winter, it can also be