Some birds have built a nest in a fan vent in our house- the vent cover blew off in some strong wind. I think I can hear hatched chicks squeaking in there. The birds are generally black with some speckling and a medium-longish sharp beak. Any idea how long until these babies will fly away? or any other suggestions about removing them and the nest? Tom Marko

It sounds as though you have a European starling nest in the vent. If you can hear chirping coming from the nestlings, then you should have approximately 2 more weeks left until they fledge from the nest (it may be less than 2 weeks depending on when they hatched). Once they leave the nest they won't come back, so it is safe at that point to remove the nest and put the vent cover back up so that birds cannot nest there again. If you have any more questions please feel free to e-mail me.