Being an engineer can sound difficult and complex. However, most engineers know, that it's nothing difficult or complex. Engineers are basically trained apes with calculators. Engineers are people who have been trained for a multitude of technical skills to be prepared to manage most tasks with technology.

To present my personal thoughs about engineering I present you...

A birdhouse for tits

_{Which I have not yet built myself, but will in the future}

A very nice specimen of tits, from Pixabay

Even children can build a birdhouse. Who needs engineering to build a proper birdhouse? I've actually built one when I was younger - the thing is though, no bird ever lived there. There was a nail poking through the bottom (to the inside, not comfortable for the bird or the eggs), the hole was wrong size and it was poor quality work in general.

There are few factors to take in consideration when you're planning a birdhouse:

• Materials used
  Wood is wood, eh? It's not as simple as that, as it matters what kind of materials you use!

• The size of the house and the hole
  Different birds prefer different sizes and the hole size is important to keep the predators (like squirrels) out from the birdhouse.

• Small details to increase the survival rates

Picking out the materials:
Basic material can be 150mm*22mm wooden plank. Bigger nests requires broader planks, but this is suitable for smaller birds.

The walls should be rough wood. Planed timber is a bad choice, as the baby birds can't climb up when leaving the nest. Rough surface gives them traction they need to climb up easy enough.
Roof and the bottom can be waterproof plywood, as a leaking roof will ruin the birdhouse and kill the baby birds. Regular planks are good enough, as long as they are good quality and don't have cracks in them.

The size of birdhouse
I drew you a beautiful picture with Paint for help.

Depending on the type of the bird you are willing to attract, you'll need different sizes of birdhouses. Luckily, we are building this for tits and they are typically quite small.

A = 100mm
B = 250mm
C = 28mm
D = 70mm

If you'd like to attract bigger birds, like a boreal owl, you'd want to change those measurements to
A = 200mm
B = 500mm
C = 85mm
D = 100mm

Boreal owl

Constructing the birdhouse

Personally, I prefer screws to nails when building up the birdhouse. It'll be easier to open either the bottom or the roof when birds finally leave the nest. It's important to choose the right size of nails or screws to get the birdhouse to be strong enough. 50-75mm are long enough for a long lasting birdhouse.

When you construct the birdhouse, leave the "heart" of the wood in the on the outer side to prevent unneccessary bending if the tree will dry and change it's form.

Drill the entrance to point a bit downwards to prevent rainwater from coming in the birdhouse. You should also drill 4 small (1cm) holes in the bottom of the birdhouse to help moisture leave, increasing the chances for birds to survive.

Make holes on the sides of birdhouse so you can tie the birdhouse in a tree. UV resistant cord or metal cord are the best options, as nobody wants your lovely bird friends to fall down during the summer.

I'd recommend not to use nails or screws to attach it directly to the tree.

You should also add small wooden bars in the back of the birdhouse to prevent rainwater which runs down the treetrunk from getting in contact with the treehouse. In worst case, the wall will get soaked and the birds inside will freeze. It can happen at least with us in Finland, as even currently the temperature is 15 celsius.

You can add a metal cover to the entrance to prevent squirrels from expanding the hole and entering. However, you should not add a sitting pole next to the entrance, as birds don't need it but squirrels and other predators are using it, as it'll make it easier for them to enter the treehouse.

Another very nice specimen of tits, from Pixabay

When you're finished
Add some soft, nice nest materials in the birdhouse. Some birds don't build their own nest by bringing material, so you can use some sawdust on the bottom to help them get the basic material for the nest and to keep baby birds alive.

You don't need to put the small birdhouse very high, 1,5 meters is high enough. If you are short though, you can use a stepladder for help.

Annual cleaning of the birdhouse will help you fight against parasites which may harm the bird babies. Love the tits and tits will love you.

Was this engineering at all?

Of course it was! Thinking through materials and how they are suitable for different tasks is an important thing engineers typically do. Even though you didn't need to go through calculations, you were able to think that the measurements matter - why something is something size and how it affects the finished product - and the user.

Even though you didn't get the ideas yourself, you saw some real ideas of product developement. Birdhouse entrance designed to prevent water going in, holes in the bottom to remove moisture.. those are really good ideas and the best thing is, they actually work. They have been tested a lot and proven to be efficient.

Of course, making developement work for cars, ships, railways etc. is more complex, but in the end, they are more or less about the same basic things. What do you need to achieve, how can you achieve that, why are different features needed, how the materials etc. are affecting everything.

No matter if you are young or old, don't be afraid of engineers and they won't be afraid of you. _{Or maybe they'll still be afraid}

Pixabay