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| Flying squad: start of annual roll call of Queen's swans | Flying squad: start of annual roll call of Queen's swans |
| (6 months later) | |
| Swan upping, a five-day event to count the swans on the river Thames, began as a ritual to check supplies for feasts but is now more about conservation | |
| Agencies | |
| Mon 17 Jul 2017 23.45 BST | |
| Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 19.59 GMT | |
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| The annual count of swans belonging to Queen Elizabeth II has begun on the river Thames. | The annual count of swans belonging to Queen Elizabeth II has begun on the river Thames. |
| The five-day event, known as swan upping, dates back to the 12th century and began as a ritual to ensure there were enough swans for feasting. Now it is more about conservation, and data from the census is collected to assess the growth of the swan population. | The five-day event, known as swan upping, dates back to the 12th century and began as a ritual to ensure there were enough swans for feasting. Now it is more about conservation, and data from the census is collected to assess the growth of the swan population. |
| The monarch traditionally claims all unmarked swans in open water. | The monarch traditionally claims all unmarked swans in open water. |
| Swan uppers are tasked with finding mute swans on a specific stretch of the Thames. When a group of cygnets is spotted, they mark the young birds and check them for disease or injury. | Swan uppers are tasked with finding mute swans on a specific stretch of the Thames. When a group of cygnets is spotted, they mark the young birds and check them for disease or injury. |
| David Barber, the Queen’s official swan marker hopes the event will draw attention to the threats to young swans, particularly from predators, dogs, egg theft and vandalism. | David Barber, the Queen’s official swan marker hopes the event will draw attention to the threats to young swans, particularly from predators, dogs, egg theft and vandalism. |
| Barber said this year’s preliminary results were very positive. “We’ve caught more young cygnets with fewer injuries than before,” he said. | Barber said this year’s preliminary results were very positive. “We’ve caught more young cygnets with fewer injuries than before,” he said. |
| The full results will come at the end of the week, as it takes five days to complete the path up the Thames. | The full results will come at the end of the week, as it takes five days to complete the path up the Thames. |
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