Swan Keeper

I am often fascinated by the "real-life" bits and pieces that refer to our various "family" bird symbols.  Sometimes, the trivia that I find about our avian "totem" critters are just eerily close to the realities of our lives.  Here is a bit that discusses the British tradition of "swan upping."  It is really about the once royal privilege of owning swans...  In particular, I just love this picture.

Swan-upping which originated over 600 years ago is an ancient English tradition with its origins based on protecting the rights of the rich and powerful. Centuries ago owning swans was a privilige restricted to the Crown. The Swan-upping ceremony developed as the means by which the Crown identified their particular swans. Swan-upping takes place along the Thames during the third week of Julyj(as an aside, the anniversary of our cutting date is in late July). An assembly of boats search to find all the year's new cygnets and their parents. The watermen jump out of their boats into the shallows to catch each bird. Very gently, they tie the bird's legs are together. This has a great calming effect on the swan. Each bird then has an identifying band attached to its leg.

swan