Bats in Our Belfry

Well, I think it is probably a bird, and we don't have a belfry. But still. Yesterday afternoon, I heard some thrashing about in or around our chimney. We have one of those prefab, metal fireplace things. It is built into a corner of our great room. Since it is metal, the thrashing about makes quite a racket.

Given the size of the firebox, there is obviously some open space on each side of the actual fireplace and behind it, too. At first I thought the alleged bird was in the chimney itself, but our cat thinks otherwise. We have a chimney cap which also has screens. It appears to be intact, but it's hard to tell without climbing up there. This time of year birds can be rather resourceful when it comes to finding suitable real estate in which to build a nest.

I've opened and closed the damper several times, hoping the bird would fall out. DH is concerned it is a rodent of some sort, but I think rodents are nocturnal. This critter was silent after dark yesterday and so far this evening as well.

I hoped it would find its way out, but this afternoon it was still flapping about periodically. So what do we do? Do we wait until it dies and bust holes in the wall until we find it? Or stage a valiant rescue? DH has me concerned enough about just what sort of critter we are dealing with that I'm not terribly anxious to confront it alive. Yet, I also hate the idea of letting it suffer.

My niece who lives nearby said they had the same issue last winter. The "bird" stayed for at least a week. All three of their cats lined up in front of the fireplace trying to figure out how to remedy the situation. She's pretty sure "it" finally left on its own and didn't just die in there.

I certainly hope ours moves on sooner than a week!