I thought a feeder that would make birds do a trick
for a seed would be nice as a father's day present. I invented one with
a crankshaft that activated a seed valve when the wheel turned. The one
I gave my father worked in the lab. But, not in the field. A squirrel chewed
it up like a piece of toast. It took him 5 minutes. I made several more
prototypes. I finally had one that worked for the birds, that squirrels
would not ruin. It was all wood. I fabricated 21 of them. Sold a few and
distributed the rest for testing. They worked until it rained. The wheel
got too heavy for the chickadees to turn. the seed got wet inside and wouldn't
dispense. I redesigned the top and wheel frame to be made out of plastic,
like the one at right. Hughes & Company provided the photo. I started
making molds in the garage. It took another year to produce the first one.
It worked good. Six years later the first unit still cranks out. Seed stays
dry. Squirrels use it, but don't harm it. It works in all kinds of weather,
even covered with snow. I patented the design and the 
easy-access top. Produced 47 units in the garage.
I replaced the wooden units, sold others for $200, and distributed the rest for further testing and
promotion. A classmate from Taiwan sent me 100 of the rope perches. It took
a year to develop the first design, another year to make it squirrel resistant,
and another year to make it reliable and sensitive enough to accommodate
the smallest bird. It took three solid years to make this thing right. Today,
the Dynamic Feeder is ready to go.
When I first started working on this invention
I had no idea weather the birds would actually use such a thing. They have
lots of other alternatives to go find food. Luckily it dispenses weather
they figure it out or not. When they start out, they don't know what they're
doing. But, it doesn't take them long to find out. It is kind of amazing.
Finches, Chickadees, Titmice, Cardinals Rose Breasted Gross Beaks, doves,
wrens, Indigo Buntings, woodpeckers, and Nuthatches all take a turn. Each
species has its own way of turning the wheel. It is interesting to watch
these birds alone. For example, House Finches and Nuthatches favor turning
the wheel in one direction. Chickadees and Gold Finches go back and forth
in a rocking motion. The picture at left shows a Nuthatch riding the wheel
counter-clockwise 
while
it watches and listens for the seed before it slides out the spout. See
its head pointed back. Usually birds feed off the cedar trays of the wheel.
In this case the bird caught the seed in mid-air. What you see at left is
typical of Nuthatches and Chickadees.
If the wheel turns only when it is off-balance, what happens when two birds position themselves opposite each other on the wheel? -- A stalemate. Four birds and a chipmunk make a circus.
If you have time, download the 10 second video to see the feeder and solar powered fountain working together in the summer. It's cool to see all the motion of the fountain rotating, water shooting, birds working, and the turning of the feeder wheel -- all from nature's energy -- seeds, birds, gravity, and sun.
