Can I just wait for it to leave on its own?

Sometimes an adult bird will come and go, but nesting material stays behind and that is the real hazard. Waiting also risks a young animal being trapped below the damper where it cannot climb out.

Is it legal to remove birds from my chimney in New York?

In many places nesting birds are legally protected, which is why the species is identified before anything is done. Where the situation calls for it, the work is handled as a humane eviction with a wildlife specialist.

Do I need a permit for this in New York City?

Routine sweeping and inspection generally do not require a permit. In New York City permits are issued by the Department of Buildings, and contractors doing home improvement work in the city need a Home Improvement Contractor license through the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection — verify current requirements with that office.

Why does my cap keep failing?

New York is coastal, and salt air off the Atlantic and the harbor plus heavy winter road salt accelerate rust on exposed metal. Freeze-thaw cycles from December through March also crack crowns and mortar, which loosens whatever is anchored up there.

Who actually comes out?

One Call Chimney is a referral and scheduling service. We arrange the work with independent sweeps and masons — we are not the contractor and we do not perform the work ourselves.

Something living up there in New York, NY

If you hear scratching, chirping, fluttering or scrabbling above the damper, something has moved into your flue. Birds, squirrels and raccoons all do it. They come in through an open flue top, then either nest there or fall down and get stuck on the smoke shelf. Along with the animal comes nesting material — twigs, leaves, paper, fur — and that material sits directly in the path your smoke and flue gases need. Treat the chimney as blocked until someone has looked inside it.

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In New York the cause is almost always a flue with no cap, or a cap that has rusted or broken away. The city is coastal, so Atlantic and harbor salt air plus heavy winter road salt work on exposed metal year after year. Freeze-thaw cycles from roughly December through March crack chimney crowns and open up mortar joints, which widens gaps at the top of the stack. Much of the housing here predates 1940 — brick and brownstone rowhouses, masonry walk-ups, prewar buildings — and on those, liners, parapets and mortar joints are a constant maintenance item. An open hole at the top of a warm, sheltered shaft is exactly what a nesting bird is looking for.

While you wait — please don't

Do not light a fire to drive it out. It is cruel, and burning nesting material is a common cause of chimney fires.
Stop using the fireplace until the flue has been checked. Nesting debris is a blockage, and a blocked flue can push smoke and flue gases back into the room instead of up and out.
Get out if anyone feels sick or a CO alarm sounds. If your chimney also vents a gas or oil heating appliance and people have headaches, nausea or dizziness, leave the building and call 911.
Do not reach in or poke at it. Droppings carry disease, a cornered animal will bite or scratch, and in many places nesting birds are legally protected.
Do not seal the top while something is still alive in there. Capping a flue with an animal inside traps it, and a dead animal in a flue becomes an odor and a blockage problem of its own.

What the technician does

The animal is identified firstNothing gets done until the technician knows what is in there and where it is sitting. Species matters, because in many places nesting birds are legally protected.
Removal or humane evictionSome situations are straightforward removal. Where the species requires it, the work is done as a humane eviction, with a wildlife specialist involved.
Nesting material and debris cleared outTwigs, leaves and packed-in nesting material are removed from the flue and the smoke shelf. This is the part that would otherwise burn.
Flue swept and inspectedOnce it is clear, the flue gets swept and then inspected so you know the liner and joints are sound. Ask to see the camera footage and ask for the reasoning in writing.
A properly sized cap with mesh fittedA cap sized to your flue, with mesh, closes the way in. That is the part that stops this happening again next spring.

Why this happens in New York, NY

Spring nesting is the peak season for this call. Birds are looking for a sheltered vertical shaft, and an uncapped New York flue is exactly that. The pattern shows up across the boroughs — in the rowhouse belts of Park Slope, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bay Ridge and Harlem, in the semi-attached and single-family stock of eastern Queens, south Brooklyn and Staten Island, and in prewar buildings on the Upper West Side and in Riverdale. The common factor is an old masonry stack with an open top.

One New York detail matters here. Many original fireplaces in the city have been sealed or converted to gas, or the flue now serves as a heating flue rather than a fireplace. If that is your situation, a nest is not just a fireplace problem — it is sitting in an active venting flue. Humid summers also keep unused flues damp, which is why nesting debris left in place tends to bring smells and staining along with it. New York City enforces its own NYC Construction Codes and applies additional restrictions to solid-fuel appliances, and solid-fuel chimney work is commonly evaluated against NFPA 211 and the appliance manufacturer's listed instructions.

Questions people ask

Can I just wait for it to leave on its own?: Sometimes an adult bird will come and go, but nesting material stays behind and that is the real hazard. Waiting also risks a young animal being trapped below the damper where it cannot climb out.
Is it legal to remove birds from my chimney in New York?: In many places nesting birds are legally protected, which is why the species is identified before anything is done. Where the situation calls for it, the work is handled as a humane eviction with a wildlife specialist.
Do I need a permit for this in New York City?: Routine sweeping and inspection generally do not require a permit. In New York City permits are issued by the Department of Buildings, and contractors doing home improvement work in the city need a Home Improvement Contractor license through the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection — verify current requirements with that office.
Why does my cap keep failing?: New York is coastal, and salt air off the Atlantic and the harbor plus heavy winter road salt accelerate rust on exposed metal. Freeze-thaw cycles from December through March also crack crowns and mortar, which loosens whatever is anchored up there.
Who actually comes out?: One Call Chimney is a referral and scheduling service. We arrange the work with independent sweeps and masons — we are not the contractor and we do not perform the work ourselves.

One call

One call at (866) 576-7943 and we will arrange for a technician to get into your New York chimney, find out what is living in it, and clear it properly. The estimate is free — the technician inspects the chimney and gives you the price before any work starts, and you approve it first.

Call now · (866) 576-7943

Something else in this area

One Call Chimney arranges the visit; the technician does the work and gives you the price.