Expert: Roger Lederer - 5/11/2007

Question
Last night we heard bird flapping & chirping echoing down our chimney into the living room.  We put our cats behind closed doors, turned off all ceiling fans and opened the vent and door in fireplace into the house. We sat quietly hoping the bird would come out & head toward the door opened to the porch.  We ended up closing the fireplace back up overnight due to our cats. I tried the same for several hours this morning before the cats woke up and wanted to be free.  This morning it didn't flap but chirped & sang to another bird outside, it seems to be a red-wing from it's song.  What else can I try to convince it to come down & out?  Food? Whistle back in red-wing? Lock cats up overnight somehow with litter box & food?  HELP!

Answer
Are you sure it is in your chimney or just on top of your chimney? I would find it very unusual that a trapped bird whould chirp and sing while stuck in a chimney. Typically they flap furiously and maybe squawk. If it is singing, it is probably not trapped. But if you are sure it is trapped, it should make its way down to the firebox and then you can take it out. Failing that, you might need to call a chimney sweep. Good luck. Roger Lederer at Ornithology.com