Chirping from the chimney in summer is almost always chimney swifts, a federally protected bird whose active nests cannot legally be removed; heavier scratching or chattering is usually a raccoon. In both cases the first rule is the same: do not light a fire to drive them out. Close the fireplace doors, keep the damper shut, and deal with the animal before you cap the chimney.
Why lighting a fire is the wrong move
Smoking an animal out is the instinct, and it is the one that causes the most damage. Nests are made of twigs, leaves and debris sitting directly in the flue or on the smoke shelf, which is ideal kindling. A fire underneath one can ignite it inside the chimney. A young animal that cannot climb will not escape upward either, and a panicked adult may come down into the room instead.
Keep the damper closed and any glass doors or screen shut, and keep pets away from the fireplace. If an animal has already come down into the firebox, shut the room, open an exterior door or window from that room if you can do so safely, and leave it alone.
Birds: chimney swifts and the protected season
Chimney swifts are small, dark, cigar-shaped birds that cling to vertical surfaces rather than perching, and the inside of an uncapped masonry flue is exactly the surface they look for. They are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which means an active nest, eggs or young cannot be disturbed. The chirping usually gets louder for a couple of weeks as the chicks grow, then stops.
The practical answer is patience. Swifts leave for their fall migration, and once they are gone the nest can be swept out and the top of the flue capped so they choose somewhere else next spring. Other birds such as starlings and sparrows are not protected in the same way, but their nests are just as flammable and just as likely to block the flue.
Raccoons and squirrels: call wildlife control first
Raccoons climb chimneys easily and a mother will use a smoke shelf as a den for her young in spring. Squirrels tend to fall in and get stuck, which produces frantic scratching against the damper. Neither is a job for a chimney sweep to start with. A licensed wildlife control operator can remove the animals humanely; once the chimney is empty, we clean out the nesting material, droppings and debris, check that the damper still works, and cap the flue.
Do not seal the top of the chimney while an animal may still be inside. That leads to a far worse smell a few weeks later and a much bigger cleanup.
Keeping them out for good in Sugar Grove
A properly fitted cap with intact mesh is the fix. Animals get in because the cap is missing, has blown off, has rusted through, or has mesh large enough to squeeze past. On newer homes around Sugar Grove that have a prefabricated chimney inside a framed chase, the place to check is the chase cover and the termination cap rather than a clay flue tile.
Autumn is the right time to act on this, after the nesting birds have gone and before a winter of fires. Our caps and dampers page covers the options, a chimney sweep clears out whatever the animals left behind, and our published rates are on the pricing page.
Get the chimney cleared and capped
Ember Chimney Sweepers is two brothers from Oswego, Josh and Jack Amber, with 35 years of combined experience. We are insured and bonded and we answer the phone seven days a week, 7am to 9pm. If something has been living in your chimney, call before you light the first fire of the season.
Written by Josh Amber, co-owner of Ember Chimney Sweepers, Oswego IL. Published October 11, 2026.