From Cape Wildlife Center

It’s a bird! it’s a plane! It’s an extremely disgruntled screech owl who spent a few nights in a chimney.

Last evening critter control of Cape Cod brought us this screech owl after a customer complained of noises coming from their chimney. To their collective surprise they found an Eastern Screech Owl staring back at them!

After an exam and a thorough de-sooting we determined it was only his pride that was injured in the incident. Owls fly compliantly silently and even some errant soot is enough to disrupt the natural airflow. This extra in-flight noise can be the difference between eating dinner and going hungry! We will keep him for a few days while he gets his affairs (and feathers) in order and rehydrates a bit. After that he will be released back to the wild where he will discontinue his career as a chimney sweep.

All jokes aside, we see this multiple times each year! Cavity nesting owls like screeches and barred owls venture down chimneys in search of food or shelters and become stuck on top of the flu or in the fireplace.

Here’s how you can help 1) check inside wood and pot- belly stoves for inhabitants prior to lighting them. 2) visually check the flu on fire places before lighting a fire. 3) most importantly, get a chimney cap! They are cheap, easy to install, and keep critters of all sizes from coming down your chimney. Just make sure to get the Santa friendly version.