KSC-2010-2222

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A sandhill crane pauses from its food search near the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida long enough to determine if it is in any imminent danger as its photograph is taken. Sandhill cranes are primarily birds of open freshwater wetlands and shallow marshes, and in Florida, use seasonally variable wetlands, grasslands, and palm and pine savannahs. Sandhill cranes are omnivorous, feeding on a wide variety of plants and small vertebrates and invertebrates, both on land and in shallow water. Florida's sandhill crane population increases as cranes from northern states spend the winter in Florida. Florida sandhill cranes stay with the same mate for several years, and young sandhills stay with their parents until they are about 10 months old. Like whooping cranes, their endangered relatives, sandhills live to be older than most birds, some living up to 20 years. The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge coexists with Kennedy Space Center and provides a habitat for 330 species of birds including the sandhill crane. Photo credit: NASA_Jim Grossmann