Wind-Turned Owl

An owl whose gaze follows the wind 🙂 It was originally meant to scare away pigeons, though I’m not sure how effective that will be. Either way, the owl itself makes an interesting garden decoration. Design process: The idea seems simple, but it requires the owl’s head to be perfectly balanced along its axis of rotation. I managed to achieve that, and now the head can spin smoothly without using any bearings. Features: During development, I tested several types of “ears” that act as wind catchers. In the print profile, I included two versions: one with small ears and one with large ears. The small-ear version works better with a feather attached at the back of the head, causing it to turn into the wind. The large-ear version can work without the feather and follows the direction of the wind. It also includes a hole for the feather, so you can test what works best for you. The head requires a moderate breeze to rotate. It won’t react to very light wind. Below some examples how it works.