Swan upping

The Queen's Swan Uppers (right).

Swan Upping is an annual ceremonial and practical activity in Britain in which mute swans on the River Thames are rounded up, caught, marked, and then released.

Traditionally, the Monarch of the United Kingdom retains the right to ownership of all unmarked mute swans in open water, but only exercises ownership on certain stretches of the River Thames and its surrounding tributaries. This dates from the 12th century, during which time swans were a common food source for royalty. Swan upping is a means of establishing a swan census and today also serves to check the health of swans. Under a Royal Charter of the 15th century, the Vintners' Company and the Dyers' Company, two Livery Companies of the City of London, are entitled to share in the Sovereign's ownership. They conduct the census through a process of ringing the swan's feet, but the swans are no longer eaten.

Swan upping occurs annually during the third week of July. During the ceremony, the Queen's, the Vintners', and the Dyers' Swan Uppers row up the river in skiffs. Swans caught by the Queen's Swan Uppers under the direction of the Swan Marker are unmarked, except for a ring linked to the database of the British Trust For Ornithology (BTO). Those caught by the Dyers' and Vintners are identified as theirs by means of a further ring on the other leg. Today, only swans with cygnets are caught and ringed. This gives a yearly snapshot as to how well Thames swans are breeding. Originally, rather than being ringed, the swans would be marked on the bill — a practice reflected in the pub name The Swan with Two Necks, a corruption of the term "The Swan with Two Nicks".

On 20 July, 2009 H.M. Queen Elizabeth II, as "Seigneur of the Swans," attended the Swan Upping ceremony for the first time in her reign, and the first time that a monarch has watched the ceremony in centuries.

In 2012, due to flooding of the river from adverse weather, the ceremony was cancelled for the first time in its almost 900 year history.

The skiffs surround the swans so that they can be more easily caught.

• 
  Swan upping on the Thames, illustration of 1875
• 
  Stanley Spencer, Swan Upping at Cookham (1915-1919)

See also

• Royal fish
• Royal Swans

External links

• Media related to Swan Upping at Wikimedia Commons
• The Royal Windsor website
• The official British Monarchy website - Swan Upping
• Swan Upping at Cookham