Birds and nests in chimneys

Autumn fast approaches, and thoughts turn to cosy evenings in front of the stove. Woe of woes, on first lighting, your stove belches smoke into the room. “It worked fine last winter, what’s gone wrong?” Look for the telltales that in the spring one of our avian friends decided to raise its family in your chimney! Are you seeing twigs in the firebed? Is your cowl / Birdguard still attached? (If you ever had one!) Call a sweep. DO NOT poke draining rods up your chimney! Without specialist tools to effectively remove a nest, you run the risk of compacting the nest further, making it more difficult to remove. Additionally, if steel lined, you may damage the liner, and if unlined, you may dislodge bricks or stonework further blocking the flue and causing expensive damage. Your chimney sweep will use his experience to assess the problem and clear your flue. A camera insertion is likely, to assess the material and extent of the blockage, and again, after the removal to assure all that the flue is clear and safe to use. The sweeps tools are designed for the task and will assure safe, efficient removal of the nest. If there is evidence of live fledglings in the nest, don’t be surprised if your sweep postpones the task. Few birds are not protected in law, especially when raising there families and disposing of live fledglings brought down a chimney is a horrendous, unpleasant task. If advised, wait a few weeks till the birds have flown and bask in the knowledge that your chimney has provided a safe haven to increase the avian population!