The brackish water tidal marshes and coastal forests that make up nearly 80 percent of the refuge provide waterfowl with a feeding and resting area, particularly during the fall and spring migrations.

American black ducks, mallards and northern pintails are common winter visitors.

Sandpipers and other shorebirds use the refuge marshes as a feeding area during the summer as well as during the spring and fall migrations.

The refuge marshes provide valuable foraging habitat for these colonial wading birds during the nesting season.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.