A mother osprey (left) sits protectively next to one of her chicks in a nest situated atop a pole at the Kennedy Space Center. Behind the nest can be seen the immense flag painted on the side of the Vehicle Assembly Building. Also known as the fish hawk, ospreys select sites of opportunity, from trees and telephone poles to rocks or flat ground.
A mother osprey (left) sits protectively next to one of her chicks in a nest situated atop a pole at the Kennedy Space Center. Behind the nest can be seen the immense flag painted on the side of the Vehicle Assembly Building. Also known as the fish hawk, ospreys select sites of opportunity, from trees and telephone poles to rocks or even flat ground. In North America, they are found from Alaska and Newfoundland to Florida and the Gulf Coast. Osprey nests are found throughout the Kennedy Space Center and nearby Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, with which it shares a boundary.Image credit: NASA/George Shelton