This adult bald eagle rests on the ground near a pond close to S.R. 3 in NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Bald eagles live near large bodies of open water such as lakes, marshes, seacoasts and rivers, where there are plenty of fish to eat and tall trees for nesting and roosting. Bald eagles feed primarily on fish, but also eat small animals (ducks, coots, muskrats, turtles, rabbits, snakes, etc.) and occasional carrion (dead animals). They are sometimes seen among a gathering of vultures at the site of a fresh meal. Bald eagles have a presence in every U. S. state except Hawaii. 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. There are a dozen eagle nests both in KSC and in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which surrounds KSC. The refuge 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.
NASA/George Shelton
2007-04-20
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