Out & About July 2017

Once all about food for the banquet, now it’s conservation and education. As the annual Swan Upping approaches, TRISH LEE speaks to the Queen’s Swan Marker David Barber SwanUpping by Royal approval

O ut goes the cry ‘All Up!’ and a flotilla of traditional rowing skiffs close in on a family of mute swans. Teams of boatmen dressed in red and blue shirts herd them in. It’s the third week in July and the Swan Uppers have arrived up the Thames. Royal Swan Upping is a centuries-old, once-a-year tradition on the River Thames and for years we have joined the crowds to welcome the arrival of the Swan Uppers at Goring Lock, one of the observation points on their five-day journey up river from Sunbury to Abingdon. The ceremony goes back to the 12th century, resplendent in yellow-braided scarlet jacket with a white quill in his cap is David Barber, the Queen’s Swan Marker, who explains that the monarch has the right to own any unmarked mute swan in open waters by royal prerogative, but this right is mainly only exercised on certain stretches of the Thames. “Only three other groups have this right: the Vintners and Dyers livery companies have owned swans on the River Thames since the 15th century, but only on the Thames. “The third is the Ilchesters of Abbotsbury, on the south coast. The family have owned swans since the 13th century. All three have a royal charter to do that. “Many years ago the marking of swans at Swan Upping was all about food; swans were highly-valued, a very important food source. Cygnets were served up at banquets and feasts. “But they were only for the really wealthy. “Of course, a lot were caught by poachers, but the fines and punishment were severe – certain imprisonment.” but hasn’t always passed by Goring. One figure stands out among the rest;

“So there’s 16 swan uppers, three swan mark- ers – for the Vintners, Dyers and the Queen – plus the Swan Warden with his two helpers.” Contrary to popular opinion, the swans aren’t aggressive. “We circle the family of swans with six traditional rowing skiffs, working closer and closer together until we can lift the swans and cygnets by hand. We get them ashore and measure, weigh, and check them for injuries. “We do find many injuries in the young swans due to fishing tackle and we either de-tackle them or, if they are seriously injured, we take them to one of the Thames-side rescue organisations for a vet to look at. “Adult swans are pretty streetwise, but not the young, who swim straight into the fishing lines.” Swans caught by the Queen’s swan uppers under the direction of the Swan Marker are left unmarked, except for a ring linked to the British Trust for Ornithology database. Those caught by the Dyers and Vintners are identified as theirs by means of a further ring on the other leg. Originally, rather than being ringed, the swans would be marked on the bill. What does it take to be the Queen’s Swan Marker? David Barber is a ‘qualified’ waterman. “Swan jobs take up much of my time, but my ‘day job’ is running a Thames boatyard at Cookham. “I’ve worked on the river all my life – since I was 15 years old – as a Thames boatman I know the river backwards. I worked with swans with my predecessor as a Royal Swan Upper for many years, but Professor Perrins taught me all about the scientific side. “It’s hard work at this time of year, with lots of fishing tackle injuries and dog attacks. The mute swan population has gone down 

Swans are a protected species and no longer eaten, so today it’s all about conservation and education, collecting data, assessing the health of young cygnets and examining them for injuries. Cygnets are extremely vulnerable at this early stage in their development and Swan Upping affords an opportunity to help both adults and cygnets that might otherwise go untreated. Twenty-two boatmen are involved in the cer- emony, all highly-experienced. “The Vintners and Dyers Livery companies both come up. I’ve got the Queen’s swan uppers on my team, plus zoologist Prof Christopher Perrins – The Emeritus Fellow of the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology at the University of Oxford, Emeritus Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford and Her Majesty’s Warden of the Swans since 1993. “He’s the top ornithologist in the country. He’s not in uniform as his role isn’t ceremonial.

Pictures: Geoff Fletcher

The Queen’s Swan Marker David Barber

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