On the east side of St Mary’s church, within a shimmering dome of spray, you’ll find Hitchin’s most resourceful residents. Here, in the middle of the River Hiz, a pair of moorhens have sought sanctuary on the base of the Sir Ian Dixon memorial fountain.
It’s not the first time that common moorhens (Gallinula chloropus) have favoured this spot. At the beginning of the first Covid lockdown, a pair (likely the same birds as they are faithful to location, if not always to their mates) built a socially distanced nest on the fountain plinth and raised two broods. Since then, the plucky duo have returned several times. A couple of years ago, they even attempted to nest on the base despite newly installed anti-moorhen spikes. Using the protruding prongs as their warp, they wove a platform with a weft of dead sticks in a Dadaist piece of performance art depicting the resilience of nature.
