Resident could hear the bird of prey behind the wall after it fell in and got stuck
Safe and sound – a tawny owl in the care of Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue after being rescued by a Grimsby chimney sweep(Image: Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue)
Michael Nolan has not been a chimney sweep for long but already believes he has the story of his career to regale friends and family with. Michael, of Chimneys UK, Grimsby, was called on for his services when a Waltham resident heard noises coming from their chimney.
“I’ve just become a chimney sweep – I started in September – and I’d been away on a course to do stove installation when I got a call from someone to say they’d heard a bird in their chimney,” said Michael. Not due to be back until the next day, Michael said to let him know if they heard it again – which they did.
“It was an open fireplace but not one they were using and the sounds were coming from behind the plasterboard,” he said. “Ninety per cent of the time it’s a pigeon or something that goes down a chimney.
“We opened up the wall – they had a little vent in the plasterboard and we managed to break through there, so there wasn’t really too much damage, fortunately – and you could see a bird’s brown feathers but nothing to say what type of bird it was. The standard way of getting them out is to push them up with your brush.
“My brush came out of the top of the chimney, but no bird. When I put my CCTV inspection camera in, you could see as clear as day it was an owl; it just looked straight at us.
Grimsby chimney sweep Michael Nolan with the rescued owl (Image: Michael Nolan)
“I pulled my brush down slowly from the top and it brought the owl out and into a fishing keep net. It was a team effort.
“With the help of the resident and my son Rhys, who was with me, we were able to carefully free the owl from the chimney flue. We kept it safe and waited for the Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue, who the house owner had called, to come – and they were there within about 20 minutes.”
Michael said: “It’s nice to have been able to save a bird – lots of times they come out dead – but this is the first time I’ve had an owl. I do think it’s very unusual to have an owl in a chimney.
“It was a mad one-and-a-half hours. The house owner said it was his birthday that day and it was all a bit surreal.
“He was like, ‘it’s my birthday, I’ve just had my family over and now I’m holding a live owl in the middle of my living room’. For me, it’s a new one.
Just a feathered leg in sight – the owl was trapped behind the plasterboard of a chimney breast(Image: Michael Nolan)
“I’m a new sweep but it’s a story I will tell forever.” The owl, which turned out to be a tawny owl, was later discovered to be dehydrated and its beak was damaged from having tried to scrape its way back up the flue, Michael said, but he added it was doing well and “sure to make a full recovery”.
A social media post by Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue said: “Emergency admission – even while closed. Although we are currently closed to new admissions while we prepare our new rescue centre for opening, we will always do our best to help in urgent situations.
“Last night, we received an emergency call about a tawny owl trapped inside a chimney in Waltham. When we arrived, a local chimney sweep had already done an excellent job of safely retrieving the bird, which was being carefully contained in a resident’s net.
“On assessment by one of our volunteers, the owl was found to be dehydrated, with damaged feathers, an injured wing, and a fracture to the hook of the beak—most likely caused by repeated attempts to escape the chimney. The owl was immediately taken to a local emergency veterinary practice, where fluids were administered and X-rays were taken to assess the injured wing. Thankfully, the X-rays showed no fractures.
Michael Nolan with the rescued owl (Image: Michael Nolan)
The tawny owl in a keep net awaiting the arrival of Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue(Image: Michael Nolan)
“The owl will remain in our care for the next few days to stabilise. Once strong enough, they will be transferred to Louth Bird of Prey Rescue, as we currently don’t have a suitable enclosure ready to house a tawny owl.
“Thank you to everyone who continues to support us. We can’t wait to reopen our centre and resume full admissions again soon.”