Sharjah24 – AFP: Britain's annual 'swan upping', a census of the swan population, takes place on the River Thames. The count dates from the twelfth century when the Queen claimed ownership of all mute swans and is overseen by the Queen's Marker. The census takes place over five days on the third week of July every year.
Commenting on this, David Barber, swan marker for Queen Elizabeth II said, "My job is the Queen Swan marker and I look after the swans wherever the Queen exercises her royal prerogative right, and that’s mainly on the River Thames."
He continued, "It is a health check, conservation exercise, and of course, we have a lot of education going on. The swan population has decreased over the past few years. Very fortunately, today has been a very good day, so far, and we have had quite a few more cygnets than we did last time last year."
The swan marker for Queen Elizabeth II concluded, "It’s a typical British tradition, we work for Her Majesty The Queen, yes, it is a tradition. But it's serves a very positive future with the education and the conservation side of it."
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