friday night, i had to go up in the attic and rescue a tiny bird that had gotten stuck between the stove pipe and the insulation guard.
the space gets narrower as the pipe and the guard converge a bit on their way to the ceiling.
he probably landed on the guard to get some warmth and then fell in and couldn't move his wings to get out.
i removed the insulation guard and pulled the bird out of the insulation by his legs.
after twenty minutes of cajoling, i finally got him out of the attic and he has since gone on to do many of the things that birds who are alive and not stuck in attics are likely to do.