Yesterday, new Prime Minister Theresa May relinquished the UK’s turn at EU Council presidency (a strong step toward Brexit), Boris took a beating from the press and Britain baked in record heat, but won’t someone please think about Her Majesty's mute swans?!
We’re right in the middle of the annual five-day Royal Swan Upping. Visitors strolling along the banks of the Thames over the last couple days may have been lucky enough to spot the red uniforms of Her Majesty’s Royal Swan Uppers as they search out their feathered friends in a flotilla of rowing skiffs. When they spot swans and cygnets (baby swans), they round them up, mark them and check them out for disease and such.
cygnets
A quirky royal tradition, this all started in twelfth century when the Crown claimed ownership of all mute swans. (There's a complication where the Crown actually shares ownership with the Vintners' and Dyers' Livery Companies. They were granted rights in the fifteenth century, but let's not get into all that right now.) Sadly, there's been a sharp decline in the number of cygnets recorded recently. There was "a disappointing 83 [in 2015] compared to 120 in the previous year," David Barber, The Queen’s Swan Marker, reported when he announced this year's annual census.
From the Royal Family's website:
Once again this year, vandalism has affected many breeding pairs; eggs have been stolen and swans have been attacked by dogs while on their nests in the Caversham, Hurley, Marlow and Maidenhead areas. Sadly, some of the injuries sustained by the parent birds have been fatal, resulting in young cygnets struggling to survive on their own against the ever present threats of natural predators. Without the adult birds being present to protect them, many cygnets do not survive such attacks.
Swan Upping beginning at Sunbury Lock. - geograph.org.uk - 122592
In addition to those semi-expected dog attacks, people shooting at the birds with air rifles are also decimating the population. Not to suggest that all of these swans were totally innocent. Perhaps a few actually provoked these confrontations? But the loss of those lovely avians would be a blow to the beauty of the Thames. Even though it might not seem like much, sometimes it's the little things that really get you. A "small breeze" of change, if you will.
Swan upping at Henley
To find out about the locations and times of the official, see the Uppers's schedule here. To learn even more about Royal Swan Upping, enjoy this online brochure, Royal Swan Upping: The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Edition.
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