bird dilemma

I have been gone this spring about 4 times for about 3 weeks. For the first time birds have been
coming down the 5 ft pipe ,thru 2 elbows and past the baffle and stuck in the stove.
I dont know how long they were in there. The first was a small black bird and he flew out ok when I opened the door. The second was a dead bluebird. The third and fourth were alive. The third was a bigger grey bird who flew out and found the door opening but was damaged. But he flew away.
The fourth was a small blackbird that was in the pipe going thru the wall.I only found it because I took the pipe apart. He freaked out and flew all around the room making soot marks that I spent an hour cleaning. I finally got him in a towel and he flew away but was injured I think.
I rigged some screen around the cap for now. I hate to spend 130 bucks on a ready made unit for Duratech 6 inch. But the pipe looks lousy now. That never happened before in 3 years. They pecked
some of the door seal rope but it still works. oh well.

Tragedy? I thought it was kinda funny actually. Open the stove door and it's like a scene from the Raven

I have had three blackbirds in my stove this spring. I swear they were all the same bird. They all flew out the front door when I let them out. For now, I stuffed the pipe with fiberglass insulation. I know I have some hardware cloth around here, and when I run across it, I will make a screen for the cap. I don't want one to go unnoticed and die in the stove, and I really don't want one to damage the back side of the cat trying to get out.

I saw that I can get a cap for 76$. I have 6 inch DuraTech. Anyone know where I can pick one up in person??? I am not home much to meet a UPS truck.

I had a bird in m stove, a dragon when I was in grad school. For whatever silly reason I was frightened of the noise and had my cat with me for moral support when I opened the door. Jules the cat hopped right into the stove and came out with a mouthfful of live but soon to be dead bird. I'll never forget the guilt.

A bag or a bit of window screen over the top will do the trick until next season?

Yesterday it was UPS, today it was FedEx. Some them both walk across the porch, past the front window, then back again. Just left my stuff by the door, didn't even bother knocking.

My wife's always ordering things that are delivered UPS or Fed-ex, they always leave the packages on the front porch, never had to sign for anything.

If it's over $500 for FedEx you have to sign for it. I order a fair amount of car parts which are often $$$$$. They come by usually around lunch time so I'm home (work evenings)

This time of year there's a high probability the bird is caring for a nest of young who will starve to death or die from exposure without that parent.

If I had that kind of track record I'd put in larger flue, maybe catch some turkeys.

We've been inundated this year with nests. Two in the shed (sparrow?), one in the corner of the gutter (something) and one in a birdhouse that got put outside on the deck by mistake(chickadee). The birdhouse has 4-5 chicks inside and the parents are having no trouble stuffing the little monsters.

I love chickadee nests. Super easy to find and they'll pack a bunch of babies in any old thing. One year when I was surveying I pulled back the bark from a decaying ponderosa pine snag to find a whole lotta chicks piled in there. The garage might be wrens. The gutter is probably a dreadful starling.

I've been holding off on pressure washing till the chickadees take off (best excuse I've come up with yet). The house is almost yellow with pollen.

Very clean little birds. They're right up against the house and there is absolutely no mess. Between the two of them I counted 12 catepillars (little inch worms) taken to the nest in less than 30 minutes.

The parents carry away the waste to deter predators. It's called a fecal sac. Like a diaper only less offensive and more efficient. Something you never wanted to know.