FOR THE BIRDS
... and the people too!
Ava Richards, Northern Cardinal, digital image, 2019
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American Goldfinch House
Maddie, Jaiden, Chris, Grant and Matilda
American Goldfinch
Scientific name: Icterus galbula
My group decided to do the American Goldfinch because of their bight and vibrate colors that are very appealing. They are also very active birds. The American Goldfinch is a small bird, it is about 3-5 inches, half of the head is black and the rest its body is a bright yellow, it's wings is black with some horizontal white strips. The American Goldfinch usually lives in patches of thistles and weeds, roadsides, open woods but they prefer to live in neighborhoods that you see in the suburbs. American Goldfinches are known for their bouncy flight and song. The birds don’t mate until mid-summer.
“American Goldfinch Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.” , All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Goldfinch/lifehistory.
Architecture style
The architecture style that inspired our design the most is the prairie style. It emerged in early 1900 and faded around 1915. Prairie style had an emphasis on simplicity, craftsmanship, and nature. It is very asymmetrical, geometrical, and has modern planes mixed in. Our birdhouse has paneling throughout it on the roof, bottom, and sides. We wanted to incorporate the simple panel design onto the house to create a more intricate birdhouse. Our house is very simple with a nice geometrical look. The birdhouse was inspired by the Emil Bach House created by Frank Lloyd Wright, a famous architect.
David Sawyer, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode
The Design Process
Designing our birdhouse started with some rough patches, but after planning and revising parts of the design, the rest of the design process went smoothly. After we were first assigned our groups, we had to analyze and revise the original plan to fit the needs of our bird. During this time, we discovered that our old bird didn’t normally live in birdhouses, so we edited the design to fit the needs of our new bird, the American Goldfinch. Then we started to build our first prototype with card stock. After this, we noticed that we needed to make our birdhouse a little bigger, so we started to build our updated design with foam. We made sure that this prototype was more refined and included all of the measurements we needed. Next, was making the CAD of our birdhouse. We started working on the CAD while we were still working out all the details with our birdhouse, so we had to keep adding changes. In the end, we were able to finalize our design and work out all of the features.
The Birdhouse
The birdhouse is held together by glue, except for the bottom. Instead, the bottom is held together by clasps that you can unscrew and carefully remove the bottom for cleaning. The first step to removing the bottom is to unscrew the black latches on the bottom of the house. Gently pull the latches out and then carefully pull the bottom panel away from the other panels. After that, you can clean the house. To put the house back together places the bottom panel back onto the house aligning it with the finger joints. Then place the latches back in their previous position and screw the screws back into the wholes. This process may take more than one person, just as a safety precaution, but the birdhouse should be cleaned as needed.
Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark
Our group decided to donate our birdhouse to Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark in Dayton, Ohio. Wegerzyn Gardens is part of the Five Rivers MetroParks. Wegerzyn Gardens supports educational programs about nature, gardening, volunteering, etc. We chose to send our birdhouse there because of the friendly environment and because of how much they care about the animals and plants that live there. Because the park is open to the public, we can reach more people. The project was created to give a bird a home and to help people come together because of the birds. We are hoping that by putting our birdhouse in Wegerzyn Gardens that many people will enjoy the house and the birds that will be inhabiting it. We would like to thank Wegerzyn Gardens for giving us the opportunity to donate our birdhouse to them.
“Children's Discovery Area - Picture of Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark, Dayton.” TripAdvisor,www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g60785-d6835528-i217023068-Wegerzyn_Gardens_MetroPark-Dayton_Ohio.html.