Wife and I were just sitting here quietly and suddenly something came down our woodstove chimney, scratching and scrambling all the way down. Not sure if it is a bird, a bat, a squirrel, but may have also been a baby 'Squatch by all the racket it made. I any case I am not opening the stove door as it is located in the corner of our living room.

It's a Vermont Castings Intrepid and has glass panels in the doors. Looked through with a flashlight and could not see anything. It may be up on the damper.

The chimney extends about 4 ft. above my roof and is all double insulated stainless so nothing will chew through it. There is a cap on top but no screen.

Not sure what my next move will be.

Moosetrot

Get the camera focused and your wife to open the door

Light a fire.

160 on the top of the pipe.

My guess is a bird.

wait for dark turn out all the lights , open it just far enough to stick in a roll of wax paper lit , close it and see what happens

Set up your camera and open the door it will suck for you but it will be hoot for us.

Starlings are usually the culprit at my house

I get birds down the chimney for the furnace all the time , I hear them making a racket

I do the easiest thing , nothing, in 24 hours they almost never make any more noise.

Maybe it is a chimney swift.

Me too

Twice for me. birds both times, squirrels can't climb the chimney pipe. A big fat A Pidgeon, and a blackbird I didn't find till fall when I wanted to build a fire.

When I went to my camp last year , this is what I found ...
When I unlocked the door and looked in , I thought someone had ransacked my camp ..
All the curtains where tore from the windows ..all the pantry items where on the floor ..
The blanket that was folded up on the couch , was all tore up and on the floor ...
The window sills where chewed off and just splinters left ...

And there in the middle of the floor was a big old grey squirrel, dead of coarse ...
I couldn't even get the satisfaction of killing him ..

He came down my SS metalbestose chimney, but I had left my Ben Franklin style wood stove doors open ..
I figure he was in there for about 2 weeks ..

I never thought one squirrel could do that much damage ..

I make sure my wood stove doors are closed and latched now ... :-)

Wait until Christmas and put out some cookies and milk and open the door. lol

Bryce

Been European starlings for us in the past.

I have had critters get in the chimney a couple times before........hen Wood Duck once, and a Chimney Swift. The Chimney Swift was a neat little bird. They are a common sight zooming and chattering around above buildings in most eastern towns, but a guy seldom has a chance to hold one in his hand. The duck croaked and all I found was feathers and bones. I have had Woodies check out the stack several times.

get the vacuum clear plugged in, and the butterfly net ready
one in each hand of your wife's
don't want you to spill your entertainment beer in the process you are holding.

I too have had a hen wood duck get in my woodstove. I got her out and released her unharmed. The darn starlings are not so lucky. But now, I put hardware cloth on the chimney when I quit firing the stove in the spring to keep the critters out. I bent a sheet of hardware cloth like a box and can put it on and take it off with fiberglass pole so no climbing required.

I screwed 1/4 inch hardware cloth around the pipe cap at the cabins.

LOL