Firefighters called to a home in the Santa Barbara County community of Montecito Sunday night found about 1,000 small birds trapped in the chimney, the Montecito Fire Protection District said in a social media post.
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Firefighters and county animal service workers hoped the birds, identified as swifts, would fly out on their own overnight, but when authorities returned Monday morning the birds were still trapped by the screen at the base of the fireplace.
Workers then designed a chute system that funneled the birds out of the fireplace and through the home's back doors.