Norfolk Broads wildlife & birdwatching

The Norfolk Broads are far more than a network of cruising rivers. They form Britain's largest protected wetland, a mosaic of open water, fen, reedbed and grazing marsh that supports more than a quarter of the UK's rarest species. Travelling by boat is the single best way to experience it, because the waterline gives you a slow, quiet vantage point that walkers and drivers never get.

The birds of the Broads

The reedbeds are the headline act. Listen at dawn on a still spring morning and you may hear the deep, foghorn "boom" of a bittern, once almost lost from Britain and now recovering on broads like Hickling and Ranworth. Overhead, marsh harriers quarter the reeds on raised wings, while kingfishers flash blue along the dykes. Recent years have even seen common cranes return to breed, a genuine conservation success story.

Dragonflies and butterflies

In high summer the fens belong to the insects. The Broads are the only UK home of the swallowtail butterfly, our largest native butterfly, which feeds on milk parsley along the fen edges in June and July. The same habitat shelters the rare Norfolk Hawker dragonfly, a brown, green-eyed hawker found almost nowhere else in the country.

Watching wildlife responsibly

• Slow right down past reedbeds and moored anglers to avoid wash and disturbance.
• Keep your distance from nesting birds, especially in spring and early summer.
• Use the nature reserve moorings at Ranworth and Cockshoot for the best access.
• Take all litter home, as wetland wildlife is highly sensitive to pollution.

Frequently asked questions