On Thursday, September 18, Hurricane Isabel roared across the mid-Atlantic states, making an unwelcome stop at Patuxent. To prepare in advance, the staff did what we could to secure pens, feed sheds, and  windbreaks. Some birds were moved out of facilities we thought might be more fragile and temporarily placed in better located pens. We worked hard before the storm to try to anticipate what might happen. 

The entire Center was closed down Thursday and Friday in anticipation of the storm. However, once the storm left the area early Friday morning, two members of the crane staff checked the birds while the rains were still falling. They contacted other anxious staff members with the good news--the birds weathered the storm fine. Around 11:00 a.m. Friday morning, the staff assembled to assess facility damage. Some feed sheds blew over in the high winds, but fortunately, only in empty pens. We lost a Bradford pear tree in a sandhill crane pen, and it knocked down part of the fencing, but the birds were uninjured and damage was quickly repaired. Another sandhill crane seems to be having a vision problem, possibly caused by trauma from the storm. She was treated and is faring well now, eating and drinking and moving around her pen almost normally. A number of trees on the Center were lost, but most of that affected roads and power lines, not buildings or pens.

Like so many thousands in the area, Patuxent was without power post-Isabel. Electricity runs our lights, phone system, computer system, and other marvels of modern living. But it also powers the automatic watering system for the crane colony. Because this is a critical function, we have long had a large emergency generator fueled by propane for just such occasions. The generator powers the pumps that runs water to the birds, except for one remote series that has its own well. The birds in that series, the Silver Series, have to be given water buckets until power is restored. We've never needed the generator for more than a day or two before, but after Hurricane Isabel, the generator kept the water flowing for a record six days!

Repair crews from the power companies were at Patuxent early on Friday to tackle some of the electrical problems. But even after the lines at Patuxent were repaired, damage in the area was so extensive, power still remained off. 

Scientific specimens in chest freezers and laboratory ultra-low freezers were in jeopardy due to the power outage. More generators had to be brought in to prevent damage to the valuable specimens. All the generators had to be closely monitored, regularly refueled, and serviced when problems arose. Refuge staff from the Fish and Wildlife Service and the USGS Facility Maintenance crew helped the crane technicians through this difficult time, while struggling with other problems the storm caused on Center. 

The Center didn't officially reopen for a week, until Thursday, September 25, but the crane staff was here daily to ensure the welfare of the birds and provide for their needs. Most of us, like our neighbors, were going home to darkened homes and defrosting freezers. But we were all grateful and relieved that the birds did so well and the crane facility suffered so little from such a devastating storm.