The flap for the dryer vent cover broke off last year, and I hadn’t gotten around to replacing it. This made it possible for Mr. & Mrs. Chickadee to build a nest that completely filled the vent. I realized this when I saw one of them looking into the dryer from the other side of the drum!
Once I started working, the birds escaped without injury, but they were not happy! Clever birds that they are, they were using dryer lint to pack between twigs. Fortunately, there were no eggs yet in the nest.
Replacing the cover required, of course, more effort and tools than it should have. The problem was the hole for the old, all-metal, vent wasn’t wide enough for the plastic housing of the new vent cover. With a hammer and wood chisel I was able to widen it just enough to make it fit. Mr. & Mrs. Chickadee will now have to find another place to prepare a nest for their blessed event.