[birdky] Re: [ask] Nesting Bird in Chimney

we had swifts in our chimney for several years, in fact, in some years a 
nestling fell into the fireplace, climbed up the sreen behind the glass doors 
and was fed by the adults. lots of noise for a few weeks. then one day, they 
flew up the chimney and were gone.
having tired of this, we bought chimney caps at lowes or home depot and 
eliminated the bird problem.
marty barr
----- Original Message -----
From: Nicole McClure <racehoss00@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tuesday, July 7, 2009 13:39
Subject: [ask] Nesting Bird in Chimney
To: ask@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

> Hi everyone,
> 
> I come before you today to ask help in identifying a bird for a 
> friend on a message board. From what she is saying and 
> describing, it sounds like a chimney swift, but she's not so 
> sure. Below are her descriptions and 2 pictures of the nest. Any 
> questions, let me know and I'll relay the information to her.
> 
> Thanks!
> Nicole McClure- Lexington
> c/o a friend in Missouri
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> 
> #1
> We have a sort of woodstove-esque fireplace - it's big and iron, 
> and you have to open two doors to put wood in, and it will 
> reroute air with a fan to blow outward to the room. Very cozy!
> 
> However, we appear to have some guests. I could hear loud, deep 
> noises for a while. It was like the sound of a sliding closet 
> door opening, but no one would be home and it was on the wrong 
> side of the house. I guess it was the sound of birds taking off 
> inside the chimney. Within the past week, we could hear distant, 
> faint chattering noises. It was so dense that it sounded more 
> like the water heater hissing or something. But now the chirps 
> are DEFINITELY...well...chirps.
> 
> They sound like they are RIGHT out of sight. If I open the doors 
> to the chimney, the chirping is literally just above my head. Of 
> course, the chimney itself could be routing the sound downward 
> and making it a bit of an auditory illusion, but they're still 
> pretty close. The chirping is annoying, but I understand there 
> is nothing I can do. I don't plan to try and get rid of the 
> babies, and I suspect it'll be another two weeks or so of living 
> with my new roomies, and then they'll learn to fly, too (poor 
> dears will have to figure out straight up instead of flying 
> forward. Not the best choice for a nest!)
> 
> However, the issue seems to be the momma and papa birds. Last 
> night there was a ton of rustling and flapping coming from the 
> vents around the fireplace. There are four metal-covered vents 
> on each corner - I'm not sure if they're connected directly to 
> the fireplace or not - and then there are the vents on the sides 
> of the actual iron fireplace itself which blow out the air. It 
> sounds like the flapping is coming from there, but I can't see 
> anything within it. I also am terrified to open the fireplace 
> itself, since...well.   Birds in the house are not always 
> fun! However, the times I have there is nothing in there, even 
> if the sound seems to come from it.
> 
> Is there anything I can do? The flapping has stopped, so maybe 
> the bird got out? I opened up the vent on the fireplace that 
> lets the heat go up more easily - I assume it would also allow a 
> bird to escape, too. Is there any delicate way to actually open 
> the fireplace and NOT let a bird fly loose through our basement? 
> I can throw open all of the doors and windows, but that's no 
> guarantee.
> And to prevent it happening again...would some sort of cage top 
> or wire mesh be okay to put on the top of our chimney, so it 
> doesn't happen next year or later this summer?
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~
> 
> #2
> I just looked them up and the babies certainly sound similar! 
> Can't be certain, though. It would make sense that they'd be 
> nesting vertically, though. Neat!
> 
> I'll see if I can get a camera and flashlight positioned as 
> necessary to check it out.
> 
> ETA: I don't think they're chimney swifts. All the pictures I 
> can find of their (adorable) homes are little half circles stuck 
> on the side of the chimney. This nest is definitely RIGHT there, 
> and, well...
> 
> 
> 
> http://i29.tinypic.com/9rhv01.jpg
> 
> The second image is just from below looking up.
> 
> It's enclosed! I was not expecting that. It's so tightly woven, 
> too - it's just a little basket. I'm going to have to see this 
> nest once they're definitely gone, but wow. I have absolutely no 
> idea what it is. I'm borderline wondering if this IS the nest, 
> but...well. What else could it be?   Did someone vindictively 
> stick a basket in my chimney?
> 
> They make this hissing/cawwing/screeching noise that sounds like 
> the hiss I described when I open and close the damper thing that 
> I'm shooting up through. It scares the crud out of me every 
> time. The flash didn't seem to bother them, but I don't want to 
> harm them. I might get a bit more adventurous with the video 
> capabilities on my camera and see if I can get a shot inside the 
> structure, but we'll see.
> 
> 
>

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