Uninvited Houseguests

[ladysprite]

There's a bird in my chimney.

So when I woke up this morning and was puttering around my kitchen, making breakfast and starting the Crock-Pot for tonight's dinner, I noticed that both of my cats were sitting with their faces pressed raptly against the glass of the fireplace screen. I mentioned it to my better half, wondering why they might do that, and he shrugged, speculating that either the wind was making a weird noise, or that they were just a little odd.

And then I sat down to eat breakfast, and heard a loud flapping and fluttering coming from inside the fireplace.

We bundled the cats into the guest room, got flashlights and protective gear, and opened it up. Unfortunately, the poor bird (or at least 'winged beast of some sort; I will not put it past the universe to trap a small ice dragon in my chimney) is still hanging out above the flue, so we can't reach it to rescue it.

I'm honestly not quite sure how to proceed from here. We've put some birdseed and water down in the fireplace itself, in hopes of coaxing the critter down to where I can grab it and toss it back outside, and blocked off the front of the fireplace to give it a little bit of visual security, but if it doesn't choose to come down I'm not quite sure what more we can do.

And meanwhile, liberated from their brief time in the guest room, my cats are once more fogging up the fireplace screen with their breath as they stare fixedly into the Place Where Prey Might Be.....

Comments

[keshwyn]

If there is an ice dragon in your fireplace chimney, at least that's better than it being in your furnace's chimney? (I mean, you can avoid lighting the fire in the fireplace, but the furnace is kind of important....)

Good luck.

[jiggliusceasar.livejournal.com]

If it's an ice dragon, lighting a fire is probably the right course of action. If it's a bird, not so much.

[keshwyn]

Are you kidding? Ice dragons were an endangered species last I checked!

[felis-sidus.livejournal.com]

That happened to me a few years ago. I called Animal Rescue, who recommended that I make sure the flue was open, and that I open the fireplace doors. They explained that birds get trapped this way because they can dive down into the chimney with wings folded, but need to extend their wings in order to fly back out. The plan was to let the bird get from the fireplace into the house, then capture the bird and release it.

I had six cats at the time. So, I made sure the flue was open, then opened the fireplace doors, and set about grabbing cats and shutting them in the bedroom, so as not to have a tragedy when the bird finally exited into the house. Suddenly, my white polydactyl cat made a mad dash from one end of the house to the other, and disappeared up the chimney with one paw extended like a fielder reaching for a fly ball.

He came down grey and empty-pawed, but his charge had apparently provided ample motivation for the bird to do some creative flying and escape up the chimney.

That chimney got capped in short order. I had no desire to return home one day to find feathers floating about the living room.

Good luck!

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

This turned out to be incredibly helpful - thank you!

[metaphysick.livejournal.com]

I choose to believe that it is a tiny ice dragon in your chimney.

[johnpalmer.livejournal.com]

Nod. With *shape-shifting* powers, so it can *appear* as a bird.

Or maybe it's a mind-numbing (get it? Numbing? Like, cold? BWAHAHAHAHAHA...okay, it wasn't that funny) illusion that it's just a bird!

[joannahurley.livejournal.com]

I suppose a chimney sweep could shoo it along, but that would be a pricey option unless you're due to have it cleaned anyway.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

The bird knew which house to choose, though...