What the ... is living in my chimney?

[Justin Passing]

30's house, upstairs spare bedroom.
Something is alive behind a boarded up fireplace. Standard pot up top.
About 5 days ago I heard something scrabbling, and it's been there since.

I won't go into how hard it would be to get to it - don't suggest it!

Any opinions on what it could be? Sounds fairly chunky, moving firebricks about after all this time. Pigeon or crow maybe, but anything else? Squirrel - or would one of those have climbed out.

And -- how long will the thing survive?

This isn't really "Building DIY" - mods please move if reqd.

 

[CBW]

A rat possibly, although could be a bird.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Bird almost certainly. Let the poor thing out (or live with the stench for a couple of weeks). If its only boarded up then it shouldn't be impossible to unboard it (close the door & open the window before you do). Then think about meshing over the top of the pots....

 

[Mottie]

Almost certainly a pigeon. We had one once and it didn’t half stink. And then there was the flies......

 

[mikeey84]

We had a pigeon too. The trick is to wait till it pops it clogs, then get it out quick.

You don't want it flying around your room covered in soot, and you don't want to leave it there too long!

 

[mattylad]

TBH without being there, looking into it we can only guess like you can.
Without knowing what's needing removing or having a photo then we can only guess on how to remove it.

What sort of guess would you like?

 

[Justin Passing]

Thanks guys. I did find a big dead black bird in one of the fireplaces I bricked up, years ago. I don't think flies had got to it. Like this one, no vent in the board.
Never known a live one though so was wondering what others' experiences were.
I've also heard of someone releasing a pigeon which was covered in soot which went everywhere and it was in such a state they had to kill it.

It was still moving last night but seems to have "escaped" now - 12 hrs later.

It would take me a day to get the fireplace open and a couple or three days to recover. I have arthritis and M.E. (which I don't believe in) or long Covid or something; whatever, that's the way it is. Still have a sense of smell......... so, time will tell.

 

[Tigercubrider]

It's gone = dead

 

[CBW]

I’ve had a couple of magpies to release.

 

[mrrusty]

Jackdaws. They're b******s. Had our chimney swept during our refurb. 18 months later when we had a liner put in and pot cowled they took out 3 black bags of twigs, coke cans, bits of god know what. We'd also had a plague of flies in the meantime.

 

[Notch7]

We had a bird fall down the chimney a few years back -poor thing was stuck behind a gas fire

because it was a gas fire I couldnt take it out -we called a plumber and he took it out -it was a blackbird who was fine and flew out the door.

I couldnt leave a bird to die unnecessarily

 

[Justin Passing]

Well it took a vacation, all was silent for a couple of days, but it's moved back in.

I was hoping it had expired and if there's no air flow it might dessicate like the one I saw in another chimney wihtout the flies.
I last went in that fireplace maybe 35 years ago so don't know what's in there, but I've heard noises like firebricks moving and also something metallic. It's possible there's an old iron grate, or it's brought home a shopping trolley.

Squirrels?

There are always pigeons about, and we do see quite a lot of magpies. Never seen a jackdaw. Those infest lofts rather than chimneys, don't they? Do birds enter and leave at will?

It's a store room, quite large and quite choked up. Over a thousand books in the way plus a lot of heavy stuff - and not enough space to move it to.

 

[mrrusty]

Those infest lofts rather than chimneys, don't they?

The jackdaws are happily building a nest next door in their disused chimney right now.

 

[Justin Passing]

Well, thanks. Forewarned...

There's plenty on the net...
Oneof the best tactics I found was noise, which they don't like. Now I wonder, distressed bird noise??

Ah..... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Repeller-Scarer-Predatory-Distress-Weatherproof/dp/B00KRFP4XQ

 

[Justin Passing]

About 2 days after that last post, the noise had been getting louder, then I heard distinct flapping for the first time. Since then, all is quiet.
Consistent with fledging.

Better get someone up there to tidy up with covers. That chimney hasn't been used since 1940's at latest. An excuse to get a drone, to have a look from above?