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Queen orders swan counting

It’s getting to that time of year again - tennis at Wimbledon, sunshine at the beach, and counting swans on the Thames.

Buckingham Palace has announced that the annual Swan Upping, a tradition dating back to the 12th century which involves a census of the swan population on the River Thames, will be conducted by the queen’s official Swan Marker from July 20-24.

“With the assistance of the Queen’s Swan Warden, Professor Christopher Perrins of the University of Oxford, the swans and young cygnets are also assessed for any signs of injury or disease,” Buckingham Palace said when announcing the count.

The process involves the Swan Marker, David Barber, rowing up the Thames for five days with the Swan Warden while wearing special scarlet uniforms and counting, weighing and measuring swans and cygnets.

For more about Swan Upping (we’re pretty sure you can’t take part, but you can certainly watch) got to www.thamesweb.co.uk/windsor/windsor1999/upping.html

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .