​FOR THE BIRDS

Baltimore Oriole Birdhouse

Bri, Patrick, Kacey and Kaylee

The Baltimore Oriole

Scientific name: Icterus galbula

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The Baltimore oriole is a small black and orange bird. They tend to live in open deciduous woodlands, community parks, and suburban backyards. The birds forage, their diet consisting of insects, fruits (dark colored), and nectar. While nesting the males sing to defend nesting territory. The nest site is usually in a tall tree, usually 16’-30’ above the ground. The shape of their nest is roughly the shape of a small gourd, about 3-4 inches deep, and 2-3 inches wide. Both parents feed the nestlings, and the young leave the nest at about 12-14 days after hatching. The oriole is a migratory bird, in the summer living in the northern states of OH, IL, and MI. When the summer ends the birds migrate back to the tropics of the Northwest tip of South America.

Architecture style

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The architecture that we used to inspire our design is The Pantheon. It is an older building from the classical period (850 B.C. – A.D. 476). It has pillars and a large dome behind a triangle on the roof. It is a building similar to our White House. We chose this architecture because we liked the symmetry of the building and the pillars to add style. People built the temple on precise rules and mathematical principles. When taking the elements of this building we took the angular roof of the Pantheon and applied it to the style of our house. In terms of the intricate design and pillars, we plan to engrave those designs on the front and sides of the birdhouse.

The Design Process

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We started with a simple, 3-D sketch of a birdhouse that we were thinking of making, without details such as dimensions of the house or specific requirements. We then decided on the final design of the house, added final dimensions accommodating the birds’ needs, and then made a paper model using those dimensions that we decided. When the model was finished, we then took the paper birdhouse and made minor changes that made it better. Next, we took those dimensions and put it into the 3-D modeler, Inventor, to CAD the house. Once the house was finished in CAD, the group made some executive decisions to finalize dimensions, and the design of the house so that it can be laser cut.