Creamer's Field
Migratory Waterfowl Refuge

- a special place for wildlife and people

At Creamer's Refuge, wildlife and people share the forest, wetlands, ponds, and open fields. Creamer's Refuge protects and enhances quality habitat for a diversity of wildlife, especially waterfowl and other migratory birds, while also providing for compatible public uses, such as wildlife viewing, research, and nature education.

Visitor Activities

Nature Trails

• Boreal Forest Trail - Wander through forest typical of Interior Alaska. Highlights include wildlife viewing from the observation tower and a self-guiding brochure that describes many features along the way.
• Seasonal Wetland Trail - This trail borders a wetland where water level and wildlife vary seasonally. Interpretive signs and observation platforms are along the path. It is wheelchair accessible during snow-free months.
• Farm Road Trail - Stroll past open fields and patches of woods. Watch for wildlife along the way.

Farmhouse Visitor Center

View nature and historic exhibits; learn more about the refuge and its programs. Call (907) 459-7307 for hours of operation.

Naturalist Walks

During summer, volunteer naturalists lead guided walks on the refuge. Check at the Farmhouse Visitor Center or call (907) 459-7307 for topics, times, and location.

Winter Activities

Snowy conditions create many recreational opportunities, including cross-country skiing, dog mushing, skijoring, and many more. A winter guide with a map of ski and mushing trails is available at the Visitor Center.

Hunting & Trapping

Sections of the refuge are open to hunting and trapping during the appropriate seasons. Ask about these activities at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office before hunting or trapping on the refuge.

Homes for 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.

Creamer's Dairy

During the gold rush at the turn of the century, Belle and Charles Hinckley brought three cows and some horses from Nome up the Yukon and Tanana Rivers to the small outpost of Fairbanks to operate a dairy. They paid for their passage on the sternwheeler by selling milk to other passengers. On the last leg of the journey, they met and became friends with the Creamers, another pioneer family on their way to Fairbanks. In 1928 the Creamers purchased the dairy from the Hinckleys and continued to develop, enlarge, and operate it until 1966. It was the largest and most successful dairy in Interior Alaska. Learn more about current farming operations.

Creation of a Refuge

As the dairy grew over the years, migratory waterfowl congregated at Creamer's Field in increasing numbers. The grain and large open fields provided prime habitat. When the dairy went up for sale in 1966, the community raised money to ensure the farm fields were preserved so the birds would continue to stopover along their migratory route.

The farm is now managed by the state of Alaska as part of the 1800 acres that make up Creamer's Refuge. The structures are the only surviving pioneer dairy buildings in Interior Alaska and were admitted to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Friends of Creamer's Field

Friends of Creamer's Field is a community-based, nonprofit organization dedicated to providing educational opportunities at Creamer's Refuge in cooperation with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game. Friends of Creamer's Field staff the Farmhouse Visitor Center, provide guided nature walks during the summer, and organize special educational events throughout the year. Membership forms and further information are available in the Visitor Center or by calling (907) 452-5162.

Alaska Bird Observatory

The Alaska Bird Observatory (ABO) is based out of Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge. ABO conducts songbird research at Creamer's Field Migration Station (CFMS) by capturing songbirds in mist nets, placing a numbered federal band on the bird's leg, recording data, and releasing the bird unharmed. The location of CFMS is important for studying population trends in nearctic-neotropical migrants, as it is near the beginning of a migrant's journey during fall migration and near the terminus of spring migration. The refuge provides an ideal location to conduct environmental education due to the proximity to Fairbanks, accessibility, diversity of habitats, and high concentration of wildlife.

The mission of the Alaska Bird Observatory is to ensure the conservation of Alaska's birds through research and education. Since 1992, ABO has specialized in long term studies of migrant and resident songbirds traveling the arctic, subarctic, and temperate regions of northwestern North America. Similar observatories are located in the United States and southern Canada-ABO is the northernmost organization of its kind in North America. ABO offers an array of educational programs on songbirds, songbird ecology, and conservation that attracted over 3,000 participants in 1998. For more information, visit the ABO website at http://www.alaskabird.org/ or contact ABO at birds@alaskabird.org or (907) 451-7159.