KSC-08pd1165

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Near NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, this bald eagle is spotted sitting in a tall pine tree. There are a dozen eagle nests within Kennedy and in the surrounding Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Bald eagles use a specific territory for nesting (they mate for life), winter feeding or a year-round residence. Its natural domain is from Alaska to Baja, California, and from Maine to Florida. The Merritt Island refuge also includes several wading bird rookeries, many osprey nests, up to 400 manatees during the spring, and approximately 2,500 Florida scrub jays. It also is a major wintering area for migratory birds. More than 500 species of wildlife inhabit the refuge, with 15 considered federally threatened or endangered. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett