The Birds Are Coming

It is about time for the dreaded Chimney Swift to migrate back to our area. The Chimney Swift is a federally protected migratory bird that likes to nest and raise their young inside chimney flues. They have the ability to fly vertically up and down the flue and usually build their nest near the bottom of the flue. The nests are made of small twigs and somehow they manage to attach the nest to the side wall of your flue. Later in the spring they will hatch 3 to 5 eggs and raise the babies throughout the summer. Sometime in August they will leave and later migrate south for the winter.  For most of the summer you have 5 to 7 birds living in your chimney. The amount of bird droppings that can collect is amazing. The noise they make can be very annoying. If your bedroom is near the fireplace, you will have some sleepless nights.  Since they are federally protected, there are substantial fines for disturbing them. Once they are in the flue there isn't anything you can legally do to remove them. You will just have t wait for them to leave in August or September.   We highly recommend that you get the flue cleaned BEFORE lighting the first fire in the fall. The droppings can be a health hazard and the nest and debris can be a fire hazard possibly causing a flue fire.  Please don't risk it, get your flue cleaned.
 The whole issue is easy to avoid. We can install a quality ran cap that has wire mesh on the sides that will absolutely keep the birds and other animals out of your flue. The cap also keeps moisture out which is important in preventing water damage to the fireplace. Se our page on Water Proofing for additional information about water damage.
 Give us a call at 423-398-1632 to get your bird proof rain cap installed now BEFORE the Chimney Swifts show up in April and May