Bird came down my flue in March and I had to pull it out by hand
I was on a job in Boise and heard flapping up in the smoke chamber, so I taped a mirror to a rod to see before I reached in there. Turned out to be a starling with a cracked wing, and I got it into a box with gloves and called animal control. How do you all handle a live bird in the flue without tearing up the damper?
Did you ever try a long pole with a net before grabbing it? Had the same thing happen with a sparrow last fall and I used a fish net taped to a broom handle so I never had to touch the damper.