My bed was right by the sealed fireplace....and so I was peacefully asleep, when around 8.30am I was awoken by an almighty squawking and what sounded like flapping by my head. I'll admit I freaked out and started crying (this doens't bode well for me wanting to change career and become a vet!). I rang the caretaker, who looks after the vicarage where I live. So he said if i wanted to save whatever was there I had to unblock the chimney. So after a bit more crying, I called Dick Van Dyke and he wasn't free...so I rang Will and Matt.
After taking off the fascia board we unveiled an amazing original fireplace from the 1800's and a bird's leg poking out of it, at which point I screamed and ran out (vet...no...). Matt then unblocked the chimney, which unveiled a rather big shock.....one big, live and breathing, fat, scared, stuck..Jackdaw. And then a dead bird fell out. Cue more screams. So aided by the mop handle I had gone to get Matt got him to move...and then he flew out the fireplace into my room! holy moly....he ended up flapping at the window but he was safe and he was free. Matt calmed him down and we used a sheet to wrap him up. Matt took him downstairs and as soon as we got outside the fat jackdaw flew off, giving Matt a thumbs up as he left (that bits clearly me being stupid as birds don't have fingers and thumbs). We found 7 dead birds and I feel awful they may have died and they were just a few metres away from me and if I'd known I could've saved them.
But anyway why I'm writing this is to say if you have chimneys, if you live in an old house...get them covered. You could save a few of our feathered friends....I am now going to try and convince our landlords to net them off or see if I can get someone to come and do it.
Watching that little (fat) chap fly off it made me think that freedom is the most important thing any creature can have. Freedom to be, freedom to move, freedom to choose, freedom to fly away.
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