I came home from shopping to hear extremely loud and continuous bird chirps in the corner of the kitchen. Odd. Outside: no birds. Inside: loud chirps. And fluttering. It sounded like it was inside the range hood: a very odd place for a bird to be.

If I banged on the hood, the chirping would stop. For a moment.

I fetched the ladder and leaned it up against the house where the range hood vents to. That vent was a long way up… (Well, not really, but I hate climbing ladders.)

I checked the range hood again and removed the bottom grille. That opened up a sealed area with no bird inside.

I looked at the ladder, and then realised the middle metal panel of the vertical part of the range hood could probably be removed by undoing the bottom screws.

I fetched the screwdrivers and slid up that middle panel. Sure enough, I could see bird legs and a portion of bird body.

That was enough to release the bird which rocketed past me and straight out through the wide open door, or so I thought.

A short time later: chirp, chirp, loud and in the corner of the kitchen.

It took quite a bit of looking and a lot of very loud chirping, but I finally located the bird well-hidden behind a small stack of plates. I moved the plates and it flew off, but this was one disoriented bird as it flew straight to the corner of a window, which allowed me to actually grab it.

It turned out to be a baby sparrow which did fly away for real once I took it outside.

I have no idea how it found itself in that space. I don’t know how things are arranged up in the ceiling space. Perhaps it had found a way in to the ceiling space and from there had fallen down beside the range hood vent pipe.

At least it’s free now.

Baby sparrow released from range hood prison.

Photo, a bird in the hand: Baby sparrow released from range hood prison. Ladder leaning against the house in the background.