These two days, the River Thames in the United Kingdom is particularly lively.
A group of people in red, blue, and white uniforms are catching swans in the heat, and the swans wave their huge wings and splash the water everywhere, which has a comedic feeling of chicken flying dog jumping.
Oh, wait,
Dare to catch swans in broad daylight??
Don't worry, these people are not trying to hurt the swans, but to protect them.
This is an English royal tradition that has been passed down from the 12th century to the present day, called Swan upping.
The man at the head was the Queen's hand-picked Swan Marker, whose hat was pinned with the iconic swan feathers.
The British royal family has many strange posts, and the number goose officer probably belongs to the most eccentric one.
About 1,000 years ago, the British royal family listed swans as royal birds, not for ornamentation, but as delicious poultry meat.
At a royal banquet, a few roasted swans are served to be considered luxurious enough,
Because of their high price and rarity, the possession of swans has also become a status symbol, and they are the exclusive animals of the royal family.
In 1186, in order to ensure a stable supply of swan meat, the English royal family declared that all warty swans living in the open waters of England belonged to them. This swan is one of the most common birds in the UK.
Since then, the official position of counting goose officials has emerged, and he needs to count the number of warty swans in various places every year, and catch swans with his men at the "swan catching meeting" to ensure that the tender little swan meat can be served on the noble table.
This official position looks like a cattle herder and a slaughterhouse owner, and the local atmosphere is very strong, but it belongs directly to the king, and the actual status is quite high, and the name is also called "Swan Master" and "Swan Guard".
For centuries afterward, the British royal family held swan ownership firmly, and only occasionally would they sell the swan mark to wealthy landowners. Landlords can mark the swan's beak to show ownership, and the offspring they give birth to belong to them.
By modern times, chicken and duck meat have become mainstream poultry meat, swans are praised for their beauty, and no one eats them anymore.
But the "swan catching" and counting the goose officials still exist, but the work has changed from catching swans and killing swans to doing a census of the swans and checking the physical condition of the swans.
Today's counting goose officer is named David Barber. In 1993, he was interviewed by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain at Buckingham Palace and was appointed by the Queen as the Crown Counts.
Barber's previous job was a shipbuilder, because he participated in the swan fair in his spare time and helped count the swans for many years, and was favored by the royal family.
Barron's job was much easier than in ancient times, and he didn't need to count the swans of all of Britain, but only the swans on the 79-mile Thames from Sunbury to Abington.
Currently, the British royal family only holds ownership of the swans on this section of the river, and it is shared with two old commercial associations. One is the Wine Association, the other is the Dye Association, which bought the Swan Mark at a high price six centuries ago and is now the only institution that keeps the mark.
The royal family did this to reduce privileges and raise their profile, although in theory the queen remained the "Lord of the Swans" of all of Britain.
Barron felt compelled to remind people of this: "I can go anywhere in Wales or England or Scotland, and as long as I say, 'This swan belongs to Her Majesty the Queen,' then I can take it." That's it. ”
Barron's work is a lot of chores, including rescuing injured or sick swans, educating students about swans, authorizing people to transfer swans, removing swans from the sailing track, and even driving swans from Heathrow Airport, where they sometimes fly.
But the most important thing is to preside over the swan catching party every July, he will lead the royal family and the goose catchers of the two associations to chase after the swans.
The site is usually like this:
When they saw a flock of swans, they shouted in unison, "Rise up!" (That's the traditional slogan), and then quickly formed a circle with the hull of the ship so that the swans could not swim out.
The goose herder then grabbed the swan's neck and body and tied its legs and wings with a soft hemp rope to prevent it from flying away.
After the swan is safe, take it to the shore, give it a body test, weigh it, put on a leg ring, and finally release it.
Leg rings are used to distinguish the swan's attribution.
After Barron took office, he abandoned the traditional method of engraving marks on the beak and instead used leg loops to distinguish between royal swans and union swans. All royal swans do not have rings, and the federation swans wear marked rings so that they do not harm their bodies.
If there is a cygnet in the flock, its leg rings are based on the parents' decision.
The number of royal swans is the lowest, with only 80 at the lowest and 143 at the most. Together, there are more than 1,000 swans in the federation.
Because when rowing the boat, I am not sure who the swan in front of me belongs to, and every time I surround the swan, it is three parties together, very united.
The warty-nosed swan has a wingspan of 2.5 meters and an average weight of 15 kilograms, and when trapped, it will frantically flap its wings and attack the goose chasers with its claws and beak, which is actually a bit dangerous.
But Barron loved the job so much that he felt extremely honored.
"The most honored moment of my life was in 2009, when the Queen herself attended the Swan Hunt. She was very interested in everything we did, asked a lot of questions and met a lot of kids. ”
"Three years ago, the royal princess (referring to Princess Anne) also came. As we paddled along the river, she was actually sitting next to me. She relished everything and I was so proud. ”
Catching swans is an ancient tradition with more than 900 years of history, and to be a part of it is to be a part of history.
This sense of history is everywhere, and the boat rowed by the goose catcher is a mahogany rowing boat with a century-old history.
The seemingly ordinary mobile support ships next to them are not simple, they were used to transfer British and French ships in 1940 during the Dunkirk evacuation in World War II.
However, in recent years, catching swans will not go well, and there will be frequent emergencies.
One was in 2012, when torrential rains brought the water level of the River Thames to alert and the event was partially cancelled.
The other time was in 2020, when the uk pandemic led to lockdowns and events were completely cancelled. It was also the first time on record.
Earlier this year, bird flu in the UK was severe, killing nearly 70 royal swans, nearly half the total.
Barron said he was shocked that this was the first time he had encountered such a situation since he served as a number goose officer.
"However, I believe that the most serious moments are over, after which the flu will disappear." Barron told the media.
Barron was joined by volunteers from all over the UK, including some elderly people who had been catching swans for decades. They don't come for money, only for British tradition and beautiful swans.
Rafting on the river, chasing swans, contributing to their health,
It's a lovely event indeed...