Swan-Upping Song

Swan Upping is the annual census of the swan population on stretches of the River Thames in the counties of Middlesex, Surrey, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire. It takes place during the third week of July each year. This historic ceremony dates from the 12th century, when the English Crown claimed ownership of all mute swans. At that time swans were regarded as a delicious dish at banquets and feasts.Today, the Crown retains the right to ownership of all unmarked mute swans in open water, but the monarchy only exercises the right of ownership on certain stretches of the River Thames and its surrounding tributaries. This ownership is shared with the Vintners' and Dyers' Companies, who were granted rights of ownership by the Crown in the 15th century. Nowadays, of course, the swans are no longer eaten!
In the Swan Upping ceremony, The Queen's Swan Marker and the Swan Uppers of the Vinters' and Dyers' livery companies use six traditional Thames rowing skiffs in their five-day journey up-river. The officials wear traditional scarlet uniforms and each boat flies appropriate flags and pennants. When a brood of cygnets is sighted, a cry of "All up!" is given to signal that the boats should get into position. On passing Windsor Castle, the rowers stand to attention in their boat with oars raised and salute "Her Majesty The Queen, Seigneur of the Swans". The cygnets are weighed and measured to obtain estimates of growth rates and the birds are examined for any sign of injury (commonly caused by fishing hooks and line). The swans are also given a health check and ringed with individual identification numbers by The Queen's Swan Warden, the Professor of Ornithology at the University of Oxford's Department of Zoology. The swans are then set free again. The Queen's Swan Marker produces a report at the completion of Swan Upping each year, which provides data on the number of swans accounted for, including broods and cygnets.

Swan Upping provides important data which enables suitable conservation methods to be used to protect the swans. A serious decline in the swan population in the mid-1980s was halted by the replacement of lead fishing weights with a non-toxic equivalent, but growing demands for recreational use of the river by anglers and boat users has resulted in an increasingly hazardous habitat. Vandalism and the theft of cygnets also create threats to the swan population.

Apart from Swan Upping, The Queen's Swan Marker has other duties: he advises organisations throughout the country on swan welfare and incidents involving swans, he monitors the health of local swan populations, and he briefs fishing and boating organisations on how to work with existing wildlife and maintain existing natural habitat. He works closely with swan rescue organisations and carries out the rescue of sick and injured swans when relevant, and he co-ordinates the temporary removal of swans from stretches of the River Thames used for summer rowing regattas.

Mute Swans

a fact sheet on this

most imperial looking

of birds.

from the BBC

Swan-Upping

Swan Upping 2