Many Thanks to Stephen Gray, an artist based in Culham, for this picture of him with his own painting of the Swan Uppers.

Today was the day the Royal census of swans, or Swan Upping, came to Abingdon – the final stop in the journey up the River Thames.

I found them first at Abingdon Sailing Club where they had caught two adult swams and six young.

This has not been a good year for swans – a virus has killed many. The Swan Uppers only found three familes, today : one at Wallingford, another at Clifton Hamden, and this one in Abingdon.

The swans were weighed and ringed, a spike was extracted from the webbed foot of one of the adults, and then they were released to swim off as if nothing had happened.

The Swan Uppers continued their journey to Abingdon Bridge where they drank the traditional toast to The Queen.

They then went to the Broad Face for more drinks. Once the local brew had lubricated their vocal chords sufficiently the Swan Uppers treated the other people in the pub to a traditional Swan Upping sing song.