Bird Screens save Lives

We’ve all heard it, that all too familiar “thud” when a bird hits a window. Sometimes the bird will recover with no ill effects. Often times though, our picture windows with views of our bird feeders and the great outdoors are death traps for birds.

More than 100 million birds are killed annually as a result of collisions with windows. Daniel Klem, Jr., Department of Zoology at Southern Illinois University, thinks the number may even be up to 10 times higher. The foremost authority on the subject, he estimates that 1 to 10 birds are killed yearly per building in the U.S. In fact, Klem suspects that windows exact the highest mortality rate of all human-related avian deaths, including poisoning and pollution, road collisions, and hunting. Klem’s studies reveal that if two birds hit a window, one will die.

Folks often assume that birds are just stupid when they strike windows, when actually they are seeing reflections of their own environment. Glass reflects trees, shrubs, flowers and sky. Birds see glass as that sky and greenery and attempt to fly “through” it. The results are devastating.

How do we avoid window collisions? There are many suggestions with few real solutions.

The Audubon Society suggests the following:

Placing feeders as close to windows as possible, no more than 30 feet away. That way when birds do fly towards a window, they don’t have the momentum to exact a fatality.

Keeping shades and blinds drawn to eliminate much of the mirror effect of windows.

Hanging decals on the outside of windows, spaced 2 to 4 inches apart to break up external reflections.

Hanging streamers, feathers, pie pans or other lightweight objects on the outside of windows so the movement alerts birds.

Franklin Haas of Narvon, Pennsylvania has tried all of these suggestions with little to no success. A longtime birder, Frank found it distressing when birds using his feeders would meet their fate at his picture windows. Realizing that pie pans, decals, streamers and feathers weren’t doing the job, Frank decided he had to find a real solution for the problem. Frank designed the Bird Screen.

Frank’s screens will fit on the outside of any window. They are custom made of black fiberglass. The screening is transparent and will not affect a window’s view of the outdoors. The screens are reasonably priced, easy to install, durable and long lasting. Most importantly, they work!

Frank designs his Bird Screens to accommodate any size window with the following criteria: (1) They are transparent so folks can still see birds. (2) They are made of a material that birds cannot get tangled in. (3) They are easily removable for window cleaning. (4) They are flexible to provide a soft impact when birds fly against them. (5) They do not interfere with the normal operation of windows. (6) They are aesthetically appealing.

The Bird Screens attach to windows with either hooks or suction cups. They hang several inches in front of a window and provide a soft cushion if a bird does fly into it. They act in two ways. Right off the bat they reduce collisions by 98% simply because birds see the screen and not reflections of surrounding areas. Secondly, if birds are panicked and fly to a window, they literally bounce off the fiberglass screens and go about their lives uninjured. Frank has had the screens working at his own home since 2001 with a 100% success rate.

Frank wanted to share his success with others and has since developed The Bird Screen Company. His screens are sold nationwide through dealers or via his website. He has stock sizes and will custom-make screens for any window. His motto – “Saving birds one window at a time.”

Frank’s website is www.birdscreen.com; his phone number is 717-445-9609.