On the Thames River in the UK, the ancient tradition of marking and counting the Swan Upping swans population, which means “Swan rise”.
The census began in 1186 to determine the number of swans population, after all the swans of the Thames rivers were transferred from private individuals to the crown.
Since then, the calculation is carried out annually in the third week of July, when new chicks are born that cannot yet fly.
Inventory, which will last five days, began on the shore of the Thames in one of the western regions of London, and it will end on Friday in the city of Abingdon (Oxfordshire County).
The procedure is led by the royal inventory of Lebed David Barber. By tradition, to fulfill his duties, he dresses up in a red uniform with a cap, into which a swan pen is inserted.
According to the centuries -old tradition, the flotilla of boats decorated with royal standards and rowers in bright uniforms moves up the Thames from Sanbury in the county of Surrei to the Abingon bridge in Oxfordshire, counting along the path of swans.
Viewers line up along the banks of the river to observe the flotilla floating past. Swans are not only recalculated, but weighed and check their state of health.
In the past, swans belonged to rich people, and on the beaks of swans painted signs characteristic of each family. Swans weighing about ten kilograms almost always decorated the festive tables of the elite.
The hunt for other people’s swans was considered a serious crime. Part of the swans was left in the rivers to ensure the survival of the species.
Although the swans in the country have passed under the control of the crown in 1186, today only swans are considered the property of King Charles III for approximately a 130-kilometer section of the Thames River with a length of 346 kilometers.
Nemary swans, discovered on this section of the river, are considered the property of the king, and accounting is kept only by the type of swans called “Shipun”.
