Birds in the duct. Repeat: birds in the duct.
 

Houston, this is billege: we have birds in the make up air duct:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/billege/143125797/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/50/143125797_3493a6e7c6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="The birds are in there" /></a>

I can't say that's what they really look like, because they're just behind the 90-degree bend in the ductwork. But, I can see the nest just back there...

The duct must have lost its intake screen. One used to be there, and has since vacated. Obviously mommy bird noticed before I did.

So. What do you do with birds in the ductwork? They can't go anywhere really. The other end of that vent is in the utility/furnace room. I suppose, if they did go all the way down the vent they'd end up flying around a small closed room. I guess I'm not too worried about that. They seem happy flying in and out the vent 24 inches from thier nest.

Sources say they're either house sparrows or some other silly bird (do I really care what they are?), and will bail after about 3 weeks when the babies can fly. My wife and I think, after much consideration, they get a 3 week stay of execution.

After that....I bet I could hook the shop vac up to the other end and put some positive pressure in there...FWHOOOOOSHHHH *cheapcheapcheap*

I guess I'm looking for bird removal ideas; assuming they don't vacate on thier own.

No, I'm not looking to kill them.

Perhaps recorded sounds of owls or other predatory birds? It would stand to reason that the little creatures wouldn't feel comfortable sharing their nest space with a "predator"...

They are barn swallows (or did you take that picture?), they arent going anywhere unless you kill them or destroy the nest, especially if they already hatched.

oh yea, the shop vac will kill them too.

but once they are gone, rid yourself of the nest (if for no other than smell) and patch it up and they wont botheryou.

Hmm, if you don't want to put soem pressure behind it, maybe my idea of using a fog machine isn't going to fly, either. After that, shop vac, shop vac, shop vac! (and video camera)

Heh, the picture there isn't mine. Now that I have a way to host pics, I wanted to start putting more in threads.

I have no idea what the birds look like in my duct. Yet.

Put the intake screen back on. Make sure it won't come off.

They'll stop cheeping after a while.

Basically:
<img src="http://www.dinosaursrocknz.com/images/Dino%20egg%20hatching.gif">

Yea, give them a few more weeks. Once they're able to fly they'll take off with a little prompting. Then you can restore the screen.

BTW, try imageshack.us for hosting. Easy, free, and pretty reliable.

Or restore the screen and then let a hungry cat loose from below.

Evil! :lol:

Well, my suggestion comes from a personal experience with some severely invasive starlings. For those of you who don't know, the starlings are a non-native bird imported from England by an overenthusiastic Shakespeare society. They are an invasive species that tend to elbow out native bird species in certain habitats. You see them a lot in urban and suburban areas of the United States.

At any rate, these starlings were so desperate for a place to nest they pecked out the mesh screening that was blocking the entrance to my family's roof vents. Suddenly our lovely suburban home was taken over by incessant screeching and cheeping. Starlings don't have a song, per se...they do this weird thing that you'd have to hear for yourself. It's not pretty. It's annoying. Anyways, they were nesting not only in our attic but in our walls as well. A family set itself up in the wall of my bedroom. Finally, Dad got fed up and nailed boards across all of the intake vents.

No more starlings!

They're in there!!
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/billege/143125797/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/50/143125797_3493a6e7c6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="The birds are in there" /></a>

B-e-a-v-e-r d-a-m!

S-t-a-n, v-e-r-y l-a-r-g-e b-e-a-v-e-r d-a-m!

Birds in the duct, is that a sequel to Samuel L. Jackson's latest movie?