(14 Jul 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Surrey, UK – 14 July 2025
1. People placing swans back into the river
2. Various of swans with their offspring
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Mustakim Hasnath, The Associated Press:
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“Did you know the King technically owns all unmarked mute swans in England and Wales? It might sound like a relic of the past, but the tradition behind it is still going strong — and it matters more than ever. Each July, a team of experts and volunteers sets off on a five-day journey up the River Thames in an event called Swan Upping. What began in the 12th century as a royal census is now focused on conservation. Swan families are caught, checked, measured and tagged. It’s all about monitoring the health of the population — and the river they live in.”
4. Various of people following swans in boat
5. Person catches swan, brings into boat
6. People assessing swans on land
7. Swan sitting
8. SOUNDBITE (English) David Barber, swan marker to his Majesty the King:
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"Today, it’s all about conservation and education. So we travel 79 miles in six traditional rowing skiffs. We go up to the river and each family of swans we come across with young cygnets. We will circle our wooden boats around them. We will work them in closer and closer together until we can actually lift them out of the water by hand."
9. Various of rowing skiffs in river
10. Swans with offspring in front of skiffs
11. People holding swans in their arms on land
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Mustakim Hasnath, The Associated Press:
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“But this year’s Swan Upping comes as a new climate report from the Met Office shows just how much more extreme the UK’s weather has become. Winters are wetter, storms more intense, and flooding is now one of the biggest threats to nesting swans. The number of months with double the usual rainfall has jumped by over 50% in the past few decades. And that’s causing real problems for swans trying to raise their young.”
13. More various of rowing skiffs in river
14. Close up of swan in river
15. Various of swans with their offspring
16. Close up of swan in river
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Lee Wooten, volunteer:
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"During the flooding the swans will try and keep building the nests up but as the river will raise it will wash the nest out and unfortunately the eggs will just become sterile and they’ll disappear in the flood water."
18. People in rowing skiffs at dock
19. People assessing a swan
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Mustakim Hasnath, The Associated Press:
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“Once the findings are in — which I’m told will take around a week — they’ll offer a clearer picture of how the swan population is faring, and the pressures they’re facing on a changing river.”
STORYLINE:
It’s an elegant parade with a serious purpose, and it’s not just for the birds.
Each July, a flotilla of traditional wooden skiffs winds its way up the River Thames in an event steeped in centuries of history.
Swan Upping may sound whimsical, but it’s a working census of one of Britain’s most iconic wild species: the mute swan.
Once reserved for royal feasts, the swans are now strictly protected.
Swan Upping has evolved from a regal ritual into a five-day conservation mission, travelling 79 miles upriver from Sunbury, on the western edge of London, to Abingdon, near Oxford.
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