American Bald Eagle
A bald eagle in level flight against open sky, photographed at a Florida launch site whose own land is habitat for 330 species of birds.
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On Friday 13 March 2026 an adult bald eagle left its nest at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The frame holds the bird and nothing else, small and off centre against a wide blue field: white head, white tail, dark body, wings raised. Eagles winter at the spaceport every year. Their nests are surveyed annually, for wildlife management and regulatory compliance.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages the launch site's undeveloped ground, through the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge covers about 140,000 acres. Kennedy offers 6,000 more for facilities and roads. More than 1,500 species of plants and animals live on the refuge. One nest on the site was built in 1973 and used from 1975 until 2022.