Swan upping: Traditional River Thames swan count begins for 2022
- Published
A count of the Queen's swans has taken place on the River Thames. Each year a special team get in boats and get out on the river to check how many of the birds there are. Usually, the baby swans would be removed from the water and taken ashore to be weighed, measured and examined for any problems.
This time, due to the hot weather, the birds were just taken on board small boats. On certain parts of the Thames, swans called mute swans are owned by the Queen. They are counted by the Royal Swan Marker and his team. This tradition has been going on for the last 800 years.
The birds are measured, weighed and tagged when they are caught. Don't worry it doesn't hurt them, and then they are set free again. It is the duty of the Queen's Swan Marker to count the number of young cygnets each year on certain stretches of the Thames and its surrounding tributaries, and to ensure the swan population is maintained.
It's not always an easy job to catch and tag the swans. This bird doesn't seem too keen!
Once they've managed to get hold of the birds they check that they are healthy and add them to the count which is called a census.
The number of new baby swans, called cygnets, is recorded to see how well the population is doing. It was so hot this year that the Queen's Swan Marker, David Barber, ditched his traditional uniform of a heavy blazer, decorated with embroidered gold thread detail, in favour of a white shirt and tie.
While it's an important job for wildlife conservation and education, it's also a fun event which lots of people come to watch - and sometimes those taking part need a bit of a snooze too!