The annual census of swans and cygnets on the River Thames which began in the 12th century started today, when the Swan Uppers covered the river from Sunbury to Windsor. London, UK. 19/07/2010
The swans on the River Thames are shared between the Queen and two London guilds, the Dyers and the Vintners. Although swans are no longer eaten, the Sovereign’s Swan Marker David Barber still makes a count of the number of cygnets on the river each year. It is probably the longest continuing environmental survey in the world, and its detailed records were important in getting legislation to ban the use of lead weights by anglers.
A small flotilla of boats crewed by skilled waterman, all of whom have been winners of the annual Doggett's Coat and Badge race for watermen, makes its way upriver from Sunbury taking five days to cover the Thames as far as Abingdon. There are two boats crewed by the Queen's men, and two each from the Dyers and Vintners guild. As as well as the Queen's Swan Marker, each guild has its own marker.
In the past swans were marked by notches on the beak to show which were owned by the guilds, but now all swans are ringed and the ownership recorded in the record books. One of the guilds still has its records dating back around 500 years, but those of the other were destroyed in the Great Fire of London.
The Queen's men wear red, the Dyers are in blue and the Vintners in white (woad and white wine help me to remember which is which) and the boats with their swan flags make a colourful spectacle as they go up the river. Several motor cruisers also flying flags with swans on them come along behind them, and at times give the rowers a rest by towing the boats.
Leading the flotilla, sometimes quite a distance ahead is a rather more ordinary boat with an outboard motor containing the Queen’s Swan Warden, Professor Christopher Perrins of the University of Oxford and his assistants, who spot the swans with cygnets and occasionally also look at other swans to check their rings.
Once a swan with cygnets is found, the uppers quietly and carefully surround them with their boats, gradually closing in until there is no open water for them to escape, as swans need a very long clear run to actually take off. They draw closer and closer until the swans are trapped in a small area of water and men can then reach in and grab the adult birds by the necks and pull them from the water.
The adult swans struggle fairly powerfully, but as soon as the uppers manage to get their legs behind their back they give up and lie still. Once the adults have been caught the cygnets are also grabbed and taken aboard. The uppers carry string on their belts to tie the legs together, and then carry the birds to the bank where they are lined up for inspection. All the birds get a quick health check, looking for any injuries or fishing hooks or line, and the cygnets are weighed and their head length measured. The cygnets and any un-ringed adult birds then have a ring with an identifying number fixed around one leg, and they are allocated either to the Queen or to one of the guilds and their details recorded in the appropriate book.
After this the birds are carefully untied and returned to the water together, and a few seconds later are swimming again as a family as if nothing had happened.
Apparently the swan uppers start their journey at Sunbury with a loyal toast and they also make one in the lock at Windsor, putting on their ceremonial jackets and standing up in their boats to drink the health of the Queen in whisky and water. The lock keeper also gets given a glass and joins in.
A couple of hundred yards upstream from the lock the Dyers and Vinters boats pull to the sides of the river and the men stand with oars raised in salute to cheer the Queen's uppers as they pass between them, standing with oars raised in their boats to return the gesture.
