The annual Swan Upping event on the River Thames, started on Monday at Sunbury Lock in Surrey. I grabbed my camera, jumped on my bike again and followed the flotilla on the first leg, through to the Swan pub in Staines.
Last year’s count showed a continued decline in the number of cygnets recorded, down 45% from the year before. This was due to avian flu, pollution, and predators, as well as flooding of the nests at the start of 2024.
This year’s event got off to a good start though, with 13 cygnets recorded before lunch on the Monday. The first two uppings took place on the opposite bank to the tow path that I was cycling along, so it was difficult to photograph much of the detail. For the third year on the trot though, Chertsey provided some birds that were upped on to the bank just by Chertsey Bridge, so I was able to get in close (along with all the media who joined at Shepperton Lock).
The focus of the Upping is on conservation, and all the birds are checked over for health issues, fishing wire, and the cygnets are weighed (see photo above).
You can see the rest of the photographs I made during this year’s event in the gallery below, and at the end is a link to last year’s Swan Upping.
https://www.douglaskurn.com/-/galleries/projects/swan-upping-2025
And you can see the results from previous year’s Swan Uppings here.
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:DK