Birds of Merritt Island NWR Gallery
The refuge traces its beginnings to the development of the nation’s Space Program. In 1962, NASA acquired 140,000 acres of land, water, and marshes adjacent to Cape Canaveral to establish the John F. Kennedy Space Center. NASA built a launch complex and other space-related facilities, but development of most of the area was not necessary. In 1963 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service signed an agreement to establish the refuge and in 1975 a second agreement established Canaveral National Seashore. Today, the Department of Interior manages most of the unused portions of the Kennedy Space Center as a National Wildlife Refuge and National Seashore.
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Snowy Egret Foraging
This is the bird that was nearly annihilated for its beautiful recurved back plumes. They were used on women's hats in the late 19th and early 20th Century. It's made a comeback and then some, having been banned from the feather industry's abuses.
EgretForagingFloridaMerritt IslandSnowy Egretbirdswater_birdswildlife
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