Annual census of swans begins on river Thames

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/14/annual-swan-census-begins-on-thames

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On a sunny summer afternoon on the Thames just outside London one of England's stranger seasonal rituals is under way.

Six traditional river skiffs, crewed by scarlet-clad bird-catchers, have embarked on the ancient tradition of swan-upping, the annual ornithological census of mute swans dating back to medieval times.

With their flag-decked boats they will, over the course of five days, travel upstream to round up and monitor all the birds they find between Sunbury and Abingdon.

It's a colourful spectacle, but these days it serves a greater purpose too as an important conservation effort.

Each cygnet is weighed, each bird given a health check, and the data obtained supplied to scientists to monitor the swan population.

Dating from the 12th century when the wild swans were so highly prized as a delicacy for banquets and feasts that the crown claimed ownership of all found open water, the original aim was to count, fatten then eat their catch.

The Queen's Swan Marker, an ancient title today held by David Barber, resplendent in scarlet blazer, brass crested buttons, white trousers and sporting a swan feather in his white cap, heads this as a collective effort to educate about and highlight dangers to the birds as well as monitoring their health.

The Thames may look tranquil on a day such as this but modern dangers lurk everywhere. The growing demands for recreational use of the river by anglers and boat users, riverside construction, vandalism, theft of cygnets and dog attacks all threaten the mute swanpopulation.

"Numbers are slightly down on last year, but it's early days," said Barber. "We have had a lot of problems with dog attacks and shootings.

"And a lot of vandalism last year, more than before,"We've had problems with the flooding earlier in the seasons which sent young cygnets over the weirs, which was pretty disastrous."

The Queen only exercises her ownership of mute swans on certain stretches of the river, with ownership also shared with the Wonderful Company of Vintners and the Worshipful Company of Dyers, the livery companies granted rights in the 15th century.

For one week a year in July swan uppers fly the flags and pennants, and pledge their duty to Queen and country.

A pair and seven cygnets are spotted, and the cry of "All up" gives the signal that the boats should get into position.

As their alarmed parents are restrained, the squeaking baby birds are gently lifted from the water, their legs bound in soft cord, their beaks measured and then weighed to obtain estimates of growth rates.

Once their ordeal over, they are released and the boats move on. Over the course of the week hundreds of birds will be recorded.

The operation is monitored by the Queen's Swan Warden, Chris Perrins, professor of ornithology at Oxford who has been part of swan upping for more than 30 years.

He admits it is not a "very high powered scientific survey" but an important conservation tool, particularly in educating the hundreds of school children invited to become involved each year.

The banning of lead fishing weights, which poisoned the birds, has seen swan number up from the very low figures recorded 20 years ago, he said. There ere are around 1000 birds on the 79 miles stretch, which is around the same figure as 100 years ago.

"The biggest threats now? Fishing tackle and overhead power lines," concluded Perrins.

For Ross Hunter, 33, a rowing coach at Henley's Leander club, this is his first year as a "swan upper".

"My godfather was a swan upper, and I have been fascinated by it since I was a boy," said Hunter, brother of the Olympic rowing medallist Mark Hunter. "It's a fun way to spend a week."