A Closer Look At
Barnhart & Son Lofts

View from the corner. The loft faces the east so the young birds can see the sun rise. By now there is a sputnik over the window on the far left, where the birds trap into the aisle and then into the open door of the young bird loft, and on race day the electronic clocking pad sits on the window sill as they enter. Loft was built during the summer of 2000, and we first flew out of it in the summer of 2001.

This is what it looked like after the June 29, 2012 derecho (straight-line winds approaching 90 mph) that swept through the upper Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states. The loft has since been reset closer to the ground and the trees have been removed.. Note the young birds on the roof in the first picture. There were about 50 of them outside when the wind hit and a few of them didn't get back inside and had to ride it out. Surprisingly, all eventually made it back inside safely.