KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Sandpipers investigate a washed up horseshoe crab on the river bank on Kennedy Space Center. Sandpipers are found on shores and in wetlands around the globe, breeding on the Arc More
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A wild turkey tries to blend into the palmetto underbrush near the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The center coexists with the Merritt Island Nati More
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The closeup of this Florida softshell turtle shows its snorkel-like snout. A totally aquatic freshwater turtle, it prefers lakes and slow-moving rivers. It was spotted near the Shutt More
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- An Egretta Heron, also known as a Tricolored Heron, wades through water just north of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Kennedy coexists with More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the turn basin near the NASA News Center swims a large fish, perhaps witness to the arrival today of the external fuel tank that will launch Space Shuttle Atlantis on the nex More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Co-located on the Kennedy Space Center is the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, one of the finest refuges in the world. Here, birds, amphibians, mammals and other wild creatu More
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A great blue heron catches a small rodent along the shore of an inland waterway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. An alligator swims in the water nearby. The center shares a b More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- An alligator lurks in the murky, mossy waters of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge at Kennedy Space Center. Its tail surfaces behind him, looking like a log in the water. More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Its newly grown, wispy feathers reflecting light like a halo, an unidentified baby bird waits, probably for its next meal, in its stick-assembled nest. The nest is in the Merritt I More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A sandpiper wades the water in the Merritt Island National kscpao/captions/subjects/wildlife.htm">Wildlife </a> Refuge, which shares a boundary with the space center. Sandpipers ar More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A robin perches on a branch in the Merritt Island National kscpao/captions/subjects/wildlife.htm">Wildlife </a>Refuge, which shares a boundary with the space center. Robins range t More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A pintail duck swims calmly in the waters of the Merritt Island National kscpao/captions/subjects/wildlife.htm">Wildlife </a>Refuge, which shares a boundary with the space center. More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A male pintail duck (foreground) paddles in the waters of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge at Kennedy Space Center while a female behind him bobs for food. The pintails More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A flock of ducks launch into the morning sky in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge at Kennedy Space Center. The open water of the refuge provides wintering areas for 23 sp More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A male pintail duck (left) and female pintail (right) look like bookends on a glass-topped table in the winter waters of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge at Kennedy Spac More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Male (foreground) and female pintail ducks climb onto a grassy spot in the waters of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge at Kennedy Space Center. The pintails can be found More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A mockingbird perches on a limb in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge at Kennedy Space Center. The birds range from southern Canada south to the Caribbean and winter in th More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Two female pintail ducks search for food in the winter waters of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge at Kennedy Space Center. The pintails can be found in the marshes, prai More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A male and two female hooded mergansers swim in the waters of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge at Kennedy Space Center. The male displays its distinctive fan-shaped, bla More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- This male blue-winged teal is one of 23 species of migratory waterfowl that winter in the waters of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge at Kennedy Space Center. The male is More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The broad, distinctive bill is a primary feature of this northern shoveler, paddling in the waters of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge at Kennedy Space Center. Typically More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Balancing on one leg, a roseate spoonbill is reflected in the waters of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge at Kennedy Space Center. The birds, named for their brilliant pi More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- These wood storks stand in grassy patches near the waters of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge at Kennedy Space Center. Known as "flint heads" and "gourd heads" because o More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The distinctive fan-shaped, black-bordered crest and striped breast identify this hooded merganser, swimming in the waters of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge at Kennedy More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A female hooded merganser swims solo in the waters of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge at Kennedy Space Center. The male is distinguished by a fan-shaped, black-bordered More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A belted kingfisher soars over the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which shares a boundary with Kennedy Space Center. The pigeon-sized, blue-gray male is identified by the More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A young female red-breasted merganser swims in the quicksilver water of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which shares a boundary with Kennedy Space Center. Usually foun More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A female red-breasted merganser swims low in the water at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which shares a boundary with Kennedy Space Center. Usually found from Alaska More
The entrance, shown here, to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Information Center is on Beach Rd. (SR 402), which skirts the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center. More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- An Eastern gray squirrel pauses in its daily search for food in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which shares a boundary with Kennedy Space Center. The Eastern gray squ More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A Rough-legged hawk stares at the landscape from a perch in a tree in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. This type of hawk is rarely seen in Florida, ranging from norther More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A Rough-legged Hawk fans its wings as it gently lands in a tree in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. This type of hawk is rarely seen in Florida, ranging from northern A More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A white pelican stretches its eight-foot wing span as it prepares for flight. The black wing feathers, hidden when folded, appear as shadows against the dappled waters of the Merri More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A belted kingfisher perches on a twig in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which shares a boundary with the Kennedy Space Center. The pigeon-sized, blue-gray male is ide More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A pair of blue-winged teals glide through the waters of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which shares a boundary with Kennedy Space Center. Inhabiting marshes, shallow More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- White pelicans search for a meal in the waters of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which shares a boundary with Kennedy Space Center. The habitat of white pelicans are More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A female red-breasted merganser paddles in the rippled water of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which shares a boundary with the Kennedy Space Center. Male mergansers More
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- White pelicans are joined by a few egrets at a feeding frenzy in the waters of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which shares a boundary with Kennedy Space Center. Pelic More