Creamer's Field — Migratory Waterfowl Refuge
Fish and Wildlife

On Creamer's Refuge, a mosaic of forests, wetlands, and fields supplies wildlife with a wide variety of food resources, shelter, and nesting sites. These different habitats provide homes for a diversity of animals on the refuge.

Creamer's Refuge is important to countless birds, but it plays a special role in the lives of migratory birds. Even though some birds stay for only a short time, they still depend on prime habitat at Creamer's Refuge to feed and rest each spring and fall en route to their nesting sites further north or their wintering grounds to the south. Common examples of these temporary residents include Canada geese, pintails, and golden plovers. Other birds such as sandhill cranes, shovelers, and mallards may remain the whole summer, sometimes nesting at Creamer's Refuge. While migratory birds concentrate on the refuge, visitors may look forward to excellent birdwatching opportunities. Although many birds leave in the fall for warmer temperatures and better supplies of food, some birds, including chickadees, redpolls, ravens and owls, remain at Creamer's the entire year.

In addition to attracting birds to its forests and fields, Creamer's Refuge also appeals to many other types of wildlife. While walking along one of the nature trails, visitors may spot a moose meandering through a birch stand, a snowshoe hare nibbling on willows, a squirrel chattering from the limb of a spruce tree, or a red fox pouncing on voles at the field's edge. A complete list of mammals and birds and their habitats is available at the Visitor Center.