Why are reed beds cut by people?

For thatching and to keep habitats open

Norfolk Broads Wildlife Quiz: Swallowtails, Bitterns and Otters

This Norfolk Broads wildlife quiz paddles through the reed beds of eastern England's wetland. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on the swallowtail butterfly and milk-parsley, booming bitterns, returning otters, marsh harriers, cranes breeding again, the Norfolk hawker dragonfly, flooded medieval peat diggings and Hickling Broad.

Start Norfolk Broads Wildlife Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Butterfly
Which large butterfly is found in Britain only in the Broads?
Plant
Which plant do swallowtail caterpillars need?
Boom
Which shy heron makes a deep booming call?
Otter
Which mammal has returned to Broads rivers?
Raptor
Which bird of prey glides low over the reeds?
Crane
Which tall bird returned to breed in Norfolk in 1979?
Dragonfly
Which rare dragonfly is named after Norfolk?
Origin
How did the Broads form?
Largest
Which is the largest of the Broads?
Reeds
Why are reed beds cut by people?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which large butterfly is found in Britain only in the Broads?
Answer: Swallowtail
It is Britain's largest native butterfly.
Q2: Which plant do swallowtail caterpillars need?
Answer: Milk-parsley
It grows in fens.
Q3: Which shy heron makes a deep booming call?
Answer: Bittern
It hides in reeds.
Q4: Which mammal has returned to Broads rivers?
Answer: Otter
Cleaner water helped it recover.
Q5: Which bird of prey glides low over the reeds?
Answer: Marsh harrier
Its numbers have risen strongly.
Q6: Which tall bird returned to breed in Norfolk in 1979?
Answer: Common crane
It had been lost for centuries.
Q7: Which rare dragonfly is named after Norfolk?
Answer: Norfolk hawker
It has green eyes.
Q8: How did the Broads form?
Answer: Medieval peat diggings flooded
This was proved in the 1950s.
Q9: Which is the largest of the Broads?
Answer: Hickling Broad
It is a nature reserve.
Q10: Why are reed beds cut by people?
Answer: For thatching and to keep habitats open
Norfolk reed is prized by thatchers.

Reed Beds, Fens and Rare Wildlife

The Norfolk Broads are a network of shallow lakes, rivers and fens in eastern England. Scientists showed in the 1950s that the broads formed when medieval peat diggings flooded. Today the wetland shelters some of Britain's rarest wildlife among its reed beds and marshes.

The swallowtail, Britain's largest native butterfly, is found in the country only here, because its caterpillars feed on milk-parsley growing in the fens. The rare Norfolk hawker dragonfly, with bright green eyes, also patrols the dykes in summer.

Bitterns boom from deep in the reeds, marsh harriers glide overhead and common cranes returned to breed in Norfolk in 1979. Otters have come back as rivers became cleaner. Reed cutting for thatch keeps habitats open, and Hickling Broad, the largest broad, is a key nature reserve.

What This Quiz Teaches

Wildlife fans will enjoy these questions.

How the Broads formed
Which butterflies live there
Which birds breed there
Which mammals returned
How people manage the reeds

Did You Know?

Boat trips let visitors spot wildlife quietly.
Water voles live along quiet dykes.
Many windpumps once drained the marshes.
Speed limits on boats protect riverbanks.
Winter brings flocks of ducks and geese.