A Bird in the Chimney: Ohio Chimney Swifts and Raccoons

What should you do first about a noise in the chimney?

These steps come before any call. This site passes on Ohio wildlife removal referrals and does no field work, so the first look is yours.

1. Leave the fireplace unused. Do not light a fire or try to smoke, flush or scare the animal out.
2. Note when you first heard it, the time of day it is loudest, and what it sounds like.
3. From the ground, look at the top of the chimney. Note whether it has a cap and whether you see an animal going in or out.
4. Do not reach into the flue or pull out nesting material.
5. Call and describe what you found.

The reason for steps 1 and 4 is in the swift section below: if the animals are chimney swifts, the birds, their eggs and the nest are protected.

If you are not sure the sound is in the chimney at all, start with the attic animals page.

Why is there a raccoon in my Ohio chimney in spring?

Two northeast Ohio city pages describe it. The City of Brecksville’s animal control page says raccoons often shelter in chimneys, attics and under decks, and that spring is when they have their young and go looking for an uncapped chimney. The City of Hudson’s page says an uncapped chimney appeals to raccoons as a den site.

Those are two cities’ descriptions, not a statewide count. They fit a report of noise from the flue in spring.

A raccoon with young in a chimney is a job for an operator. State rules apply to how raccoons are trapped and what happens to them afterward, and the operator who takes the job answers for those rules.

The raccoon removal page covers raccoons in attics as well.

Can chimney swifts be removed from an Ohio chimney?

Not while they are nesting. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says: “The chimney swift is a neotropical migratory bird protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). Thus, harassing, injuring, or killing swifts, their eggs and their nests is illegal.” The chimney swift is on the federal list of protected birds at 50 CFR 10.13.

So an active nest stays. Do not remove it, and do not hire anyone who offers to. The birds migrate at the end of the season, covered in the next section.

Not every bird in a chimney is a swift. Federal Register and Fish and Wildlife Service pages show that European starlings, house sparrows and rock pigeons are not protected by that act. That difference is why identification comes before any work.

When can chimney work be done around swifts?

The Fish and Wildlife Service gives national dates. Chimney swifts arrive in the United States in March or April and leave in August or September. “For most of the U.S., that means you should clean your chimney between September/October to March/April,” the agency writes.

Those are national dates and advice. They are not a rule written for Ohio. The agency’s page also carries a regional table that this site has not read, so check it or ask the operator for the local window.

If you hear birds in the flue between spring and late summer, plan on waiting. By the agency’s advice, chimney cleaning comes after the birds have gone.

Should I put a cap on my chimney?

This page gives no advice for or against a cap. Find out what is in the flue first. An operator inspects and explains the plan on the call.

Who handles an animal in a chimney?

Ohio Attic Animal Removal is a referral service run by Local Core Group and does no field work. Calling the number on this page passes your request to an independent wildlife operator when one works at your address. Availability is settled on the call. The operator sets the price and answers for its own license and insurance.

Tell the operator when the sounds started and what you saw at the top of the chimney. With swifts nesting, an active nest stays where it is.