The Story Behind Bird Screens
My wife and I are birders. We have always had numerous bird-feeders wherever we lived. A constant problem has been birds flying into our windows and getting injured or killed. This often happens when something frightens them off of the many feeders or just during normal flying back and forth. We tried everything over the years, decals, strings of feathers, etc. — with no success.
The problem was exacerbated when we converted our deck into a sun room. This created a "wall" of glass 20 feet long by 7 feet high facing the feeders. It reflected the woods surrounding us so well that it looked like more woods to the birds. The number of window-kills increased. I therefore decided that I had to find a solution. It became obvious that the only solution would be a physical barrier between the birds and the window.
I noticed that birds that hit the window screens in front of the window portions of the sun room usually bounced off with no apparent ill effects. I therefore decided to put screens over the other glass portions. However, the screens had to meet the following criteria: (1) They had to be transparent so we could still see the birds, (2) They had to be a material that birds would not get tangled in, such as netting, (3) They had to be easily removable for easy window cleaning, (4) They had to be flexible enough so as to provide a soft impact when birds flew against them, (5) They had to not interfere with the normal operation of the windows, and (6) They had to be aesthetically appealing.
With these criteria in mind, I finally developed the design displayed on these pages. It uses black fiberglass screening which is practically transparent and does not affect our bird-viewing pleasure. It is soft and flexible enough that no harm is done to birds that fly into it. The hooks at the top (or the suction cup brackets) make it easy to put up and take down as needed. The screens hang several inches in front of the window, so they do not interfere with the opening and closing of the window. The materials are all weather resistant and should last many years without any maintenance other than an occasional cleaning. And, the screens do not detract from the window's appearance.
I have had these screens in place on our home since November 2001 and have not had a single fatality (or injured bird) that we know of. We have seen birds fly into the screens, bounce off, and resume whatever activity they were doing before with no apparent harm.
The screens were so successful that I decided to make them available to others, hence The Bird Screen Company.
I hope you try them, find them satisfactory, and have no more window-impact injuries or fatalities.
Franklin C. Haas