Annual Royal Swan Upping takes place on River Thames
- Published
A count of the Queen's swans has taken place on the River Thames. Each year a team get in boats and get out on the river to check how many of the birds there are.
On certain parts of the Thames, swans called mute swans are owned by the Queen. They are counted by the Royal Swan Marker and his team. This tradition has been going on for the last 800 years.
It's not always an easy job to catch and tag the swans. This bird doesn't seem too keen.
Once they've managed to get hold of the birds they check they are healthy and add them to the count which is called a census.
The number of new baby swans, called cygnets, is recorded to see how well the population is doing.
This cute cygnet has been weighed and tagged to check it is healthy.
This girl got a chance to meet a young swan.
The birds are measured, weighed and tagged when they are caught. Don't worry it doesn't hurt them and then they are set free again.
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