Swansong feared for Britain's royal birds

LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) It's been a tough year for Her Majesty's swans on Britain's River Thames. If dogs and foxes don't get them, then lead poisoning and fishing tackle will.

The bearer of bad news was David Barber, Queen Elizabeth's official Swan Marker who takes to the river every year for Swan Upping, the annual cygnet census which dates back to the 12th century.

All swans on the picturesque and meandering Thames are officially owned by the monarch and were originally counted with a view to their ending up on the dinner plate.

Today, they are tagged, weighed and gently put back in the river in the annual avian stocktaking.

Barber, announcing plans for next month's Swan Upping, said attacks by vandals had decreased over the past year.

But he warned that lead poisoning had increased, dog and fox attacks were on the rise and fishing tackle injuries were still the main cause of swan mortality.

REUTERS SRS DS1350