Take a Virtual Tour!
![SQOnCellx150](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20170102054437im_/https://www.fws.gov/uploadedImages/Region_4/NWRS/Zone_3/Mattamuskeet_Complex/Swanquarter/Home/Promos/SQOnCellx150.jpg)
There's nothing like experiencing this refuge in person, but take a sneak peek to give you a hint of what's in store for you here!
Virtual Tour of Swanquarter
About the Complex
![Complex Graphic](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20170102054437im_/https://www.fws.gov/uploadedImages/Region_4/NWRS/Zone_3/Mattamuskeet_Complex/Mattamuskeet/Images/CabinBearAR-Millsx150.jpg)
Mattamuskeet, Cedar Island, and Swanquarter National Wildlife Refuges are managed as the Mattamuskeet Complex.
Swanquarter is managed as part of the Mattamuskeet, Swanquarter, Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex.
Learn more about the complex
About the NWRS
The National Wildlife Refuge System, within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, manages a national network of lands and waters set aside to conserve America’s fish, wildlife, and plants.
Learn more about the NWRS
Featured Wildlife
Keep up with recent news reelases from national wildlife refuges in eastern North Carolina
News Releases![AmericanBlackDuck-Lewisx150](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20170102054437im_/https://www.fws.gov/uploadedImages/Region_4/NWRS/Zone_3/North_Carolina_Coastal_Plain_Refuge_Complex/Mackay_Island/Home/Promos/AmericanBlackDuck-Lewisx150.jpg)
American black ducks migrate to Swanquarter National Wildlife Refuge in the fall from their breeding grounds in eastern Canada. They arrive in October and remain until February. They reside in the moist soil units and marshes on the refuge and in the Bay and River surrounding the refuge.
Learn More![Bufflehead-lewisX150](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20170102054437im_/https://www.fws.gov/uploadedImages/Region_4/NWRS/Zone_3/Mattamuskeet_Complex/Swanquarter/Sections/Wildlife_and_Habitat/bufflehead-lewisX150.jpg)
Buffleheads are diving ducks that reside on the Swanquarter National Wildlife Refuge during the fall and winter. They use shallow, sheltered coves, harbors, estuaries, or beaches. Buffleheads dive for aquatic invertebrates, crustaceans, and mollusks. They typically swallow their food while still underwater.
Learn More![Forster'sTern-Lewisx150](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20170102054437im_/https://www.fws.gov/uploadedImages/Region_4/NWRS/Zone_3/Mattamuskeet_Complex/Swanquarter/Sections/Wildlife_and_Habitat/Forster'sTern-Lewisx150.jpg)
Forster’s Terns reside on Swanquarter National Wildlife Refuge in the fall and winter. They occupy the refuge’s brackish marshes, water bodies within the marshes, and the shorelines of the sound. They eat small fish, shrimp, and crabs.
Learn More
![Red Wolf-persistent promo](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20170102054437im_/https://www.fws.gov/uploadedImages/Region_4/NWRS/Zone_3/North_Carolina_Coastal_Plain_Refuge_Complex/Alligator_River/Images/redwolf---Persistent-Promo.jpg)
Red wolves, once declared extinct in the wild, have been re-established in eastern North Carolina
Learn more
Page Photo Credits King Rail by Jeff Lewis
Last Updated: Mar 10, 2016