Various squirrel and bird powered machines by Bill McHugh

Bill McHugh put the plentiful squirrels surrounding his Narberth, Pennsylvania home to work — with the aid of peanuts, sunlight and wind, the squirrels and birds are powering his backyard kinetic sculptures.

A retired mechanical contractor, Bill's hobby of making kinetic sculptures is outlined on his website: Backyard In Motion. There, all of the sculptures are individually explained. Here are just a few of Bill's inventions:

SQUIRREL POWER
• Swirl-a-Squirrel — runs on 30 peanuts per day (with the help of hungry squirrels)
• Squir-Rel-A-Tor —
• Whirl-A-Squirrel — this machine runs on 150 peanuts per day
• Twirl-A-Squirrel — in peak season, this machine requires 400 peanuts per day to keep running!
• The Cyclotron — 8' in diameter!

BIRD POWER
• Hitchcock — a bird machine that runs on birdseed and the aid of 30+ birds
• Avian Anerometer — runs on wind and the weight of feeding birds

SOLAR POWER
• Pterodactyl — "Ten-foot wingspan, moving wings and maw, full rotation and voice to greet passersby. Solar panels charge powerpack which by remote control actuates drive motors. Eats small children and dogs."

While the images on Bill's iste are rather small, there are a few more and a video interview at Mainline Media News | Reinventing the Wheel - And Then Some.

Via: notcot.org, Mainline Media News | Reinventing the Wheel - And Then Some

Images: Backyard In Motion