From Hastings Ranch to Altadena, Sierra Madre and Arcadia
Which Town, and What Moved In?
Send your town and what you are hearing. We confirm the day and call back with a time.
the oak-shaded streets between the Arroyo Seco and Chapman Woods
Pasadena
Hastings Ranch, our home base, sits in the northeast corner of Pasadena, and this page covers it along with the older blocks toward the Arroyo Seco. Oaks and sycamores shed onto crowns all autumn, and an older bungalow flue left open without a cap is an easy door for a squirrel, a bird or a raccoon. A Pasadena call often starts with scratching behind the mantel or twigs on the grate.
the foothill streets below Eaton Canyon and Echo Mountain
Altadena
Altadena runs right up to the San Gabriel foothills, and raccoons, squirrels, birds and bats come down looking for a dry, quiet flue. The January 2025 Eaton Fire destroyed or damaged many homes here, and chimneys on houses that stayed standing can still hold ash and fallen debris inside.
the small foothill village tucked under Mount Wilson
Sierra Madre
Sierra Madre is a small, wooded town with canyon streets climbing into the foothills, right next door to Hastings Ranch. Older homes keep their original brick chimneys, and canyon wildlife treats an uncapped one as shelter.
the oak-lined neighborhoods below the foothills around Santa Anita
Arcadia
Arcadia's peafowl roost on rooftops and now and then on a chimney, a sight you can catch from the street. Oaks and squirrels keep caps busy too, and older ranch homes on big lots can still have their original open flue. Arcadia borders Hastings Ranch, so it is a short hop for us.
the large-lot residential streets just south of Pasadena
San Marino
A San Marino house may carry two or three chimneys, and the flue over the room nobody uses is the one birds and squirrels pick. Big trees on wide lots drop leaves onto every crown and into the gap behind each stack.
the quiet residential grid between Arcadia and Rosemead
Temple City
Temple City mixes older ranch houses with newer homes built on the same lots. The older chimneys are where pigeons, rats or a flue packed with leaves turn up.
the flat, busy neighborhoods between the San Gabriel and Rio Hondo rivers
El Monte
Some El Monte homes have one modest brick chimney that has sat cold for a long while. Pigeons and roof rats find a chimney like that quickly, and the first clue is a noise or a smell in the living room.
freeway-side tracts where the Santa Monica Mountains begin
Agoura Hills
A lot of Agoura Hills fireplaces are factory-built, with a metal flue tucked inside a framed chase. That chase has seams and a top plate, so a small gap up there can let a rodent into the wall as easily as into the flue.
the tree-lined grid of older houses below San Marino
Alhambra
Alhambra keeps many older bungalows with short brick chimneys close to the roof, so roof rats and pigeons reach the top with little effort. A chimney that has gone several winters without a fire is the kind animals move into.
a pocket-sized city crossed by the 91 Freeway
Artesia
Plenty of Artesia's postwar chimneys were switched to gas logs, and then nobody looked up there again. Gas does not clear a nest. Twigs in a flue that vents gas logs can send fumes back into the room, so the cap still matters.
the harbor town around Green Pleasure Pier on Catalina
Avalon
Close to half of Avalon's houses predate 1950, and narrow lots push one roofline nearly into the next. A bird will claim an old flue with no screen without much trouble, and a rusted screen is hardly better.
foothill streets below the San Gabriels, around Azusa Pacific University
Azusa
Azusa runs from postwar tracts on the flats to Rosedale up on the old Monrovia Nursery land, so one flue may be aging brick and the next quite new. About 9 miles from Hastings Ranch, both kinds still want a screen sized to the top.
flat valley streets on former citrus and walnut ground
Baldwin Park
Nobody building Baldwin Park's small ranch homes gave much thought to what climbs a roof. One modest chimney on a low house is an easy reach for a rat or squirrel, and an uncapped one gets found fast.
tight southeast blocks where the Los Angeles River passes
Bell
Owner households are scarce in Bell, about one in four, and a rented house rarely gets anyone looking at its chimney top. Worn mortar near the top of old brick leaves pockets that small animals are happy to use.
small-home streets laid out on old subdivided farmland
Bell Gardens
Small lots cut from farmland drew Dust Bowl families to Bell Gardens in the 1930s. A brick flue from those years has had decades to shed mortar, and a gap near the top is all a small bird needs.
the old orchard town named for the Bellefleur apple
Bellflower
Renters fill much of Bellflower, and a tenant who hears scratching in the wall may not know the flue above it has no cap. Gas logs added later do nothing to stop a bird from dropping in.
the Flats and the hills below the Hollywood Fault
Beverly Hills
Much of the Beverly Hills Flats dates from the 1920s and 1930s, when a chimney meant site-built brick. A tall old stack on a handsome house can still have an open flue on top, and a squirrel has no respect for the address.
gated estates tucked against the San Gabriels
Bradbury
With fewer than 800 residents and big lots, Bradbury is nearly all estate homes beside the Angeles National Forest. A stack on a long roofline is easy for wildlife to reach and hard to see from the driveway, so a failing cap can go unnoticed.
the Media District, Magnolia Park and the flats below the Verdugos
Burbank
In Burbank's Rancho district, horse lots sit near Griffith Park and the river, while Magnolia Park packs in small bungalows. Either way, a brick chimney running gas logs with no screen on top is an open invitation to anything looking for shelter.
mountain-side neighborhoods where the Los Angeles area runs out westward
Calabasas
Half the houses in Calabasas are newer than 1984, so masonry is uncommon here. A metal flue inside a framed chase has a factory top, and when that rusts or its screen bends, nesting can start inside the wood box.
a west San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles
Canoga Park
Canoga Park filled in during the Valley's 1950s and 1960s tract boom, and many of those chimneys got gas logs along the way. The flue above still needs a screen, because a nest there sits right in the path of the exhaust.
old Dominguez rancho land near the Dominguez Hills
Carson
Owners hold roughly three in four Carson homes, mostly tract houses from the years after the war. A chimney that old has probably outlived its first cap, if it ever had one.
former dairy country laid out as master-planned neighborhoods
Cerritos
Dairy land became master-planned Cerritos tracts in the 1960s and 1970s, and later houses often got a metal fireplace instead of brick. Birds do not care which kind it is. A bent top on a metal flue works as well as an open door.
Claremont's tree-shaded Village and hillsides under the San Gabriels
Claremont
A city known for its trees drops plenty into an open flue. Near the Village some chimneys are well over a century old, and leaves and twigs can pile up in them for years, which is what a nesting bird goes looking for.
freeway and factory land with a few quiet residential blocks
Commerce
Industry takes up most of Commerce, and the houses in Rosewood and Bandini are few. Roughly 3 in 10 went up before 1950, and an old chimney tucked between busy blocks is easy to forget until something moves in.
tract streets around Compton Creek and the A Line
Compton
A small postwar ranch is the usual house on a Compton tract street, though about 3 in 10 homes were already standing by 1950. An old brick stack with a wide open top is the kind of spot a pigeon will settle on without being asked.
citrus-era downtown and tract streets around Covina Bowl
Covina
Near Citrus Avenue, a few early bungalows remain from Covina's citrus years, while most of the city is ranch houses from the 1950s and 1960s. Whichever you own, look at the top of the flue before worrying about anything below it.
a small, dense southeast city named for a meatpacker
Cudahy
Owners are rare in Cudahy, about 1 household in 7, and extra units often stand behind the original house. With that many tenants under one old chimney, a rattling in the flue can go unreported for a long while.
Westside hills and older tract areas around the E Line
Culver City
Hillsides in Culver Crest and Blair Hills meet 1970s condo buildings in Fox Hills here, where fireplaces are more often factory-built metal. A bird in a shared building's flue is a problem for more than one neighbor.
hillside suburb grown out of the former Diamond Bar Ranch
Diamond Bar
About half of Diamond Bar was built after 1980, and many houses have metal fireplaces rather than brick. Streets near Tonner Canyon and the Tres Hermanos land sit by open ground, and animals from there will test any gap at the top of a chase.
tree-lined tract streets around the old Apollo plant site
Downey
Trees define Downey's ranch home streets, and those same branches give squirrels a bridge to the roof. Over 8 out of 10 houses here predate 1980, so plenty of chimneys are past due for a new screen.
foothill streets below Fish Canyon
Duarte
Duarte is about 7 miles from Hastings Ranch and has a good number of condos and apartments alongside its houses. Many postwar fireplaces here run gas logs now, which means the flue rarely gets the heat that would discourage a nesting bird.
a beach town beside the old Standard Oil refinery
El Segundo
Apartments and condos make up much of El Segundo, and only about 4 in 10 units are detached. In the older houses, brick flues from the 1920s to 1940s may have no screen at all, so a bird can settle up there unnoticed.
a South Bay city with older bungalow pockets
Gardena
Gardena keeps some small bungalows in its older sections, mixed with postwar houses. A short chimney on a small house is within easy reach of a rat on a fence line, so the screen on top matters more than the height suggests.
the neighborhoods spread from the Verdugo hills down to the Los Angeles River
Glendale
Glendale's canyon streets back onto open hills, and raccoons and opossums cross yards after dark. Chimneys up in the canyons get more animal calls from us than the ones down on the flats.
valley-floor tracts climbing into hillside neighborhoods below the San Gabriels
Glendora
Glendora splits in two, with postwar ranch tracts below and hillside streets climbing toward Glendora Mountain Road. Up the slope, a chimney sits closer to open country, so a bent or missing screen tends to matter sooner than it does on the flats.
a compact southeast city of small tract lots
Hawaiian Gardens
Small houses on small lots are the rule in Hawaiian Gardens, and just under half of households own. A brick or block chimney over a tract home here is often the tallest thing on the roof, which makes it a handy perch and a tempting hole.
a South Bay city of apartments named after a writer
Hawthorne
Detached houses are only about one Hawthorne home in four, and the rest is apartments. If you own one, your chimney is yours alone to watch, and birds will use a neglected flue whether or not anyone lights a fire below.
a small beach city around the Hermosa Valley Greenbelt
Hermosa Beach
Roughly half of Hermosa Beach's homes are detached, and on a city this small they stand close together. Postwar flues often hold gas logs now, and sea birds or rats have no trouble with an open top that gets no heat from one week to the next.
a private ranch-style city behind guarded gates
Hidden Hills
Gates do nothing to stop a raccoon. Nearly every home in Hidden Hills is detached and lived in by its owner, and the older ranch houses keep masonry chimneys, so a wide old stack beside open ground is worth a look from above.
a dense early suburb from the Pacific Electric streetcar days
Huntington Park
Over 4 in 10 Huntington Park houses were standing by 1950, so many brick chimneys here have seen a lot of weather. Renters on a lot with added units may never think to look above the roof.
warehouse and factory country along the 60 in the Puente Valley
Industry
With about 40 housing units among the warehouses and factories, City of Industry has few chimneys inside its limits. If yours is one of them, an old flue beside a rail corridor still needs a screen like any other.
the city around SoFi Stadium and the Kia Forum
Inglewood
Most Inglewood households rent, and many of the apartment buildings date from the postwar decades. About a third of homes are older still. Whatever the age, a flue serving more than one family can hold a nest for years before anyone reports the smell.
quarry land and Santa Fe Dam, with few homes
Irwindale
Irwindale has very few homes, scattered in small pockets, and most are detached and owner-occupied. Those houses sit about 7 miles from Hastings Ranch, and a lone chimney near open quarry land is an easy target for anything looking to nest.
the wooded hillsides between the Arroyo Seco and the Angeles Crest Highway
La Canada Flintridge
La Canada Flintridge sits against the Angeles National Forest, with oaks overhead and brush on the slopes. Raccoons, squirrels and birds pass through the yards, and an open flue on a quiet house makes a ready den.
winding Puente Hills lots along Hacienda Road
La Habra Heights
Nine in ten homes in La Habra Heights are owner-occupied, and a good share of them are older customs with masonry chimneys. Steep access means nobody casually checks the roof, so a screen gone bad up there can stay that way for years.
tract neighborhoods around Biola University and Neff Park
La Mirada
Most La Mirada households own a detached postwar house, and those tract fireplaces are typically brick. A cap that came off in some past windstorm is easy to miss from the sidewalk, and a pair of birds will not need long to notice.
modest tract streets sitting below the Puente Hills
La Puente
Older than 1980 describes about 8 in 10 La Puente homes, built on modest lots in the postwar years. Not every tract house got a fireplace, but those that did have a flue that birds treat like a hollow tree.
foothill streets at the eastern end of the San Gabriel Valley
La Verne
Tract building from the 1960s on shaped most of La Verne, so metal fireplaces are about as common as brick. A chimney top is a chimney top to a squirrel, and either kind needs mesh that fits.
the early-postwar tract city near Rynerson Park
Lakewood
Not every Lakewood tract model came with a fireplace. Where one did, the chimney went up with the house, and nearly 9 in 10 homes here predate 1980. That is a lot of original tops that may never have had a real screen.
Antelope Valley tracts north of the San Gabriels
Lancaster
Brick is not the norm in Lancaster, where stucco tracts mostly date from the 1980s on and factory-built fireplaces are common. Those metal tops have thin parts, and a small gap is all a bird or rodent asks for.
a small South Bay city of mostly 1940s to 1970s building
Lawndale
Renters outnumber owners in Lawndale, where much of the building dates to between the 1940s and 1970s. An older brick chimney on a rented house may have no one watching it, so scratching overhead can be the sign its screen has given up.
former farm land near the Harbor area
Lomita
Farm land turned into Lomita's streets mostly between the 1940s and 1970s, and postwar houses commonly have brick chimneys. When the rusted cap on one of those stacks goes, the opening stays open until someone climbs up.
Belmont Shore, Bixby Knolls and the historic districts by the harbor
Long Beach
Plenty of old Long Beach chimneys came down or got rebuilt after 1933. In a historic district such as Rose Park or Drake Park, that means a brick stack whose top may be younger than the house, and whose screen may be missing altogether.
the wider city of Los Angeles beyond our core San Gabriel Valley route
Los Angeles
Calls from across Los Angeles sound like the ones we take at home in Pasadena: a bird trapped in the flue, a raccoon on the roof, leaves packed on a crown with no cap. Our city work leans to the northeast side, closest to Hastings Ranch and the rest of the route.
old dairy country built up with small houses
Lynwood
By 1950 nearly half of Lynwood's houses already stood, an old stock for this area, so plenty of bungalow chimneys have seen a lot of years. A flue with no cap gives a rat or a bird a dry place right above the living room.
coast road homes and canyon lots near Pepperdine
Malibu
Recent Malibu rebuilds lean toward modern gas units, while older houses and Colony cottages may still have their old flues. Either way, a top that vents through a canyon roof is a likely spot for birds, and a gas unit gives no reason for them to leave.
beach streets from El Porto to the Tree Section
Manhattan Beach
Factory-built gas units often replace brick in a Manhattan Beach remodel, though some older houses keep their masonry. A gas vent on a new roof and a brick stack down the block have the same weakness, a small opening that birds like.
a tight, fully built small city around Slauson Avenue
Maywood
Almost no empty lots remain in Maywood, and many hold added units behind the house. An old brick chimney may sit above several households here, and with so many people below, a dead bird in the flue is more than one family's problem.
the foothill town around Myrtle Avenue and the canyon above it
Monrovia
Monrovia sits flush against the foothills, and a bear wandering into town makes the local news now and then. The chimney visitors are smaller: raccoons, squirrels and birds moving into open flues on older houses.
the Crescenta Valley streets around Honolulu Avenue
Montrose
Montrose lies in the Crescenta Valley below the San Gabriels, with the Verdugos across the way, so wildlife drifts in from two directions. Squirrels and birds take over uncapped flues, and street trees stuff crowns with leaves each fall.
an older city of houses and apartments around its regional mall
Montebello
Montebello is close to an even split between detached houses and apartments, and most of it, over 8 in 10 homes, is older than 1980. On a chimney that age the original cap has often rusted out, and the next tenant up there may have feathers.
hillside and ranch-home streets along Atlantic and Garvey
Monterey Park
About 9 miles from Hastings Ranch, Monterey Park's ranch and hillside houses mostly date from the 1950s and 1960s. Hillside brush nearby gives small animals cover, and a chimney with a loose screen gives them a dry place to wait out the night.
homes around Cerritos College and Studebaker Road
Norwalk
Most Norwalk households own a detached house, and well over 8 in 10 homes here predate 1980. That usually means one person is responsible for one aging chimney, which is good news if they think to look at the mesh on top.
Antelope Valley suburbs near the San Andreas road cut
Palmdale
Hardly 1 in 5 Palmdale homes predates 1980. Those older ranch houses may still have masonry, and their rusted tops are an easy way in for a rodent coming off undeveloped land with its Joshua trees.
the Olmsted-planned peninsula around Malaga Cove and Lunada Bay
Palos Verdes Estates
Early Palos Verdes Estates houses were Spanish Revival in stucco and red tile, planned from the 1920s by the Olmsted firm. A chimney like that is part of the look, so a cap has to fit the crown properly and still keep birds from moving in.
two old farm towns grown together along the Los Angeles River
Paramount
Mid-century building turned two farm towns, Hynes and Clearwater, into Paramount. Apartment complexes outnumber detached houses, so a cap problem on one owner's single-story home may be the only chimney concern on the block, and it is still worth fixing.
a river-bounded city formed from two old farm towns
Pico Rivera
Two farm towns became Pico Rivera, and the 1950s tract building gave it rows of single-story ranch houses. With 7 in 10 households owning, most of those chimneys have one family looking after them, though few people climb up to see the cap.
Antique Row and the eastern edge of the Los Angeles Basin
Pomona
Some of Pomona's oldest houses stand around Wilton Heights and Lincoln Park, and their brick chimneys are a long way from new. A flue that has gone cold for years is exactly where a bird or a roof rat starts raising a family.
peninsula streets around Portuguese Bend and Miraleste
Rancho Palos Verdes
Most Rancho Palos Verdes homes date from the postwar decades and likely have masonry chimneys, while remodels sometimes add gas units. On a peninsula lot with open land nearby, an uncapped flue attracts company, and raccoons do not mind the view.
the shore from the pier and King Harbor to Hollywood Riviera
Redondo Beach
A chimney near the pier takes more abuse than one a mile inland, and Redondo Beach has many of both, from North Redondo's postwar houses to the view homes of Hollywood Riviera. Near the water, a rusted screen is worth checking early.
a private ranch-style city high on the peninsula
Rolling Hills
Nearly every Rolling Hills house has an owner living in it, and older ranch houses likely carry brick or masonry chimneys. On lots this size, near riding trails and open slopes, animals have every reason to explore a chimney with no screen.
equestrian trails and the Peninsula Center on Palos Verdes
Rolling Hills Estates
Stables still stand on horse-keeping lots across Rolling Hills Estates, and many ranch homes from the 1950s to 1970s keep their original chimneys. A sound screen up top keeps the flue out of bounds for anything nosing around the yard.
valley streets close to Whittier Narrows parkland
Rosemead
Rosemead is about 7 miles from Hastings Ranch, and most of its homes are detached postwar houses with brick chimneys. Renters make up a big share, so a noise from the fireplace may get mentioned late, after a bird or squirrel has settled in.
Old Town on Bonita Avenue and foothill streets above it
San Dimas
Via Verde's larger homes and equestrian properties sit near open foothills, and that makes San Dimas chimneys interesting to wildlife. Brick stacks on older houses and factory-built fireplaces on 1970s tracts both want a cap fastened well.
an independent small city ringed by Los Angeles
San Fernando
San Fernando has older streets of bungalows and period houses, plus postwar ranch homes. A lot of those brick chimneys were built before modern seismic rules, and when a top cracks it opens gaps that a small animal can use long before anyone calls about it.
the mission city around Valley Boulevard, between Alhambra and Temple City
San Gabriel
Older San Gabriel streets hold Spanish Revival and Craftsman homes, about 5 miles from Hastings Ranch. Brick stacks of that age were not built for today's seismic rules, and worn joints near the top let wasps, rats and rain go right in.
Valencia, Newhall and the canyons of the Santa Clarita Valley
Santa Clarita
Most Santa Clarita tracts were built with factory-built or gas fireplaces, while historic Newhall still holds small older houses. A prefab top often has thin metal and a loose collar, and a persistent bird or rodent only needs a small opening to get into it.
an oil boom city of modest homes and mobile home parks
Santa Fe Springs
Oil made Santa Fe Springs in the 1920s, and modest ranch homes followed after the war. Few houses predate 1950, so the typical chimney is a single brick stack, sound enough perhaps, but old enough for its cap to need replacing.
coastal blocks from Ocean Park up past Montana Avenue
Santa Monica
Apartments far outnumber houses in Santa Monica, but a bungalow in Ocean Park or a bigger home north of Montana still has a flue of its own. Leave it uncapped this close to the water and something will find it.
a Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles along Ventura Boulevard
Sherman Oaks
Sherman Oaks was laid out from the late 1920s but mostly filled in after World War II. A single brick chimney on one of those houses can stand a long time without attention, and that suits whatever wants a dry place on the roof.
the oil hill above Long Beach, pumps still working
Signal Hill
Oil pumps still work among Signal Hill's houses, and roughly half of the homes date from after 1980. Metal flues up the slope wear differently than the brick on older lower streets, but a gap in either is enough to let a bird in.
light-industry streets north of Legg Lake
South El Monte
Homes in South El Monte are mixed in with light industry, mostly small ranch houses from the 1940s through 1960s. Warehouse roofs next door give pigeons plenty of places to roost, and a nearby open chimney is one short flight away.
Tweedy Boulevard and the streets of Hollydale
South Gate
Nearly half of South Gate homes predate 1950, and postwar tracts add plenty more old brick. Hollydale, in the south of the city, has its own older streets. An unwatched flue on any of these blocks will not stay empty for long.
the old neighbor of Pasadena, home of the Rialto Theatre
South Pasadena
South Pasadena's Craftsman and Victorian homes are about 6 miles from Hastings Ranch, and nearly half the housing here is older than 1950. A brick stack of that age is often unreinforced, with old mortar near the top and a screen long since gone.
the planned industrial city from Walteria to Torrance Beach
Torrance
Torrance was planned as an industrial city in 1912, but most homes came after the war. Hillside lots in Walteria and Hollywood Riviera sit above older tract streets, and in both places an old cap should be checked before a bird does it for you.
a factory city by the Los Angeles River, with hardly any residents
Vernon
Few chimneys exist in Vernon, where industry covers almost everything and only about a hundred homes stand, nearly all rented. Anyone who does have an old flue beside a working yard can still end up with a pigeon in it.
Puente Hills suburbs at the eastern San Gabriel Valley edge
Walnut
Nearly every Walnut home is detached, mostly built between the 1960s and 1990s. A two-story stucco roof puts a metal flue well out of reach, so a bent top or chewed screen may not get noticed for years.
postwar tracts around Plaza West Covina
West Covina
Brick chimneys came with West Covina's postwar tracts, and later houses often went with factory-built metal. Roughly 3 in 4 homes went up before 1980, so a tired screen could be up there on either type.
Melrose Avenue, Santa Monica Boulevard and the Norma Triangle
West Hollywood
Detached houses are rare in West Hollywood, mostly on the Norma Triangle and side streets, and only about 1 in 5 households own. A courtyard building's old brick flue is shared by several tenants, and each one may assume someone else checked the top.
lakeside streets planned on a former ranch at the county line
Westlake Village
Almost nothing in Westlake Village predates 1970, since the whole town was built around its man-made lake from the 1960s on. A flue here is younger than most, but a loose top still gives lakeside birds a dry spot to build.
Uptown streets below Turnbull Canyon and the Puente Hills
Whittier
Older than 1980 describes nearly 9 in 10 Whittier homes, and plenty go back much further. An unreinforced stack that came through 1987 may well be missing mortar near the top, right where a squirrel or bird can get a grip.
the Oxnard Plain city named for Adolfo Camarillo
Camarillo
More than half of Camarillo's homes postdate 1980, with Leisure Village and other townhomes adding attached units. On a shared metal flue, a bent top is everybody's problem, and a bird does not read the homeowners association rules.
a heritage train town near Sespe Creek and the river
Fillmore
Fillmore's older core is ringed by later tracts, about 51 miles from Hastings Ranch, and most homes are detached and owner-occupied. With few condos in town, each cap is the owner's own business, and a missing screen stays missing until they deal with it.
tract neighborhoods around Moorpark College and the Arroyo Las Posas
Moorpark
Moorpark did not incorporate until 1983, and homes older than 1980 are few, about 1 in 5. On a two-story stucco tract house, the flue top is well out of sight from the yard, so nobody sees a bent cap or the bird nesting beneath it.
the enclosed valley town around Libbey Park
Ojai
Ojai's downtown went Spanish Colonial about 1917, and brick chimneys from before modern seismic rules are still around town. About 70 miles from Hastings Ranch, these older stacks have the same weak points, starting with a screen that has rusted away.
the sugar beet and strawberry city on the Ventura coast
Oxnard
Sugar beets started Oxnard in 1898, and most of the city today is stucco tract housing. Chimneys here are plain and often out of sight above a low roof. Rust gets to those tops quickly, then birds move in.
a harbor town beside Naval Base Ventura County
Port Hueneme
Only about 1 in 3 Port Hueneme homes is detached, with condos along the shore and apartments inland. A modest postwar house here may be the one chimney on its block with an actual owner watching it.
the mural downtown and citrus streets on the Santa Clara River
Santa Paula
Santa Paula started out as a citrus and oil town, and Craftsman and Victorian houses still stand downtown. Their tall old chimneys can sit years without a fire below, which suits nesting birds just fine until somebody lights one.
the enclosed valley around the Reagan Library
Simi Valley
About half the houses in Simi Valley went up before 1980, and postwar tracts often have one brick chimney per house. After decades of weather that stack may no longer be tight at the top, and a lifted cap gives a raccoon all the invitation it needs.
oak-dotted Conejo Valley neighborhoods ringed by open space
Thousand Oaks
Thousand Oaks takes its name from oak trees protected by city ordinance, and Conejo Open Space surrounds much of it. Oak leaves drop into any open flue, and animals from that open land have an easy route to a chimney at the edge of town.
Main Street, Midtown and the harbor on the Ventura coast
Ventura
Downtown and Midtown Ventura still hold Spanish Revival and Craftsman houses with chimneys far older than their cap, if there is one. Birds like a tall old flue close to the harbor as much as anyone likes the view.
newer south Orange County neighborhoods around Aliso Creek
Aliso Viejo
Barely 6 in 100 Aliso Viejo homes predate 1980, and condos and townhomes with metal flues lead the way. Newer does not mean sealed. A factory top with a damaged screen lets a bird into a chase just as an open brick stack would.
from the west side tracts to the hills above the canyon
Anaheim
West Anaheim's postwar tracts usually have one brick chimney per house, while factory-built fireplaces spread later. Anaheim Hills has its own version of the problem: brush and open slopes close by, and animals that treat a bent flue top as shelter.
oil town roots below the Puente and Chino Hills
Brea
Oil built early Brea, and most housing went up after 1950. Gas or factory-built units are the rule in newer areas like Olinda Ranch, while older tracts keep brick. Either flue can host a bird family if the top is open.
the city around Knott's Berry Farm and Interstate 5
Buena Park
Buena Park is mostly 1950s and 1960s stucco tract housing, and a single brick chimney is the norm where there is one. Its cap is often the oldest metal on the roof, and few people ever see it up close.
the mesa between the Eastside and Mesa Verde, near Newport
Costa Mesa
Older cottages on the Costa Mesa Eastside sit close to Newport, and the tracts in Mesa Verde went up in the fifties and sixties. Rebuilt homes often run gas. A low-roof cottage chimney with no mesh can pick up a resident without a sound from below.
old dairy ground at Orange County's northwest corner
Cypress
Dairy City was the name at incorporation in 1956, before Cypress filled with tracts. Homes built before 1980 make up about three quarters of town, so the first cap on any chimney is probably long past its working life, and it is an easy thing to replace.
bluff-top homes around the harbor and Doheny State Beach
Dana Point
Dana Point's housing mostly dates from the 1970s onward, on hillside tracts and bluff tops, with factory-built or gas units in the newer homes. Older customs may keep masonry. About 52 miles from Hastings Ranch, each style has its own way of letting birds in.
former farm tracts around Mile Square Regional Park
Fountain Valley
Fountain Valley built out quickly in the 1960s and 1970s, when farm land gave way to tracts of stucco houses on regular lots. Those fireplaces are all getting on in years together, and a screen that has rusted through invites nests as easily on one street as another.
Golden Hill, Sunny Hills and the campus side of north Orange County
Fullerton
Fullerton protects much of its old masonry in preservation zones, Golden Hill and Raymond Hills among them, and Sunny Hills added ranch homes with brick fireplaces. A nest in a historic flue is a bigger job than the cap that would have prevented it.
Little Saigon, Little Seoul and the Christ Cathedral area
Garden Grove
Expect site-built brick in most older Garden Grove tract houses, with factory-built units later on. About half the homes are detached, and the chimney on one of those may never have been checked from the top at all.
Pacific frontage from Sunset Beach to the old oil fields
Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach came up on oil in the 1920s, but most homes date from around 1974, and condos crowd the coast. Near the sand, a chimney top goes from sound to rusted faster than it would inland, and rust is how animals get past it.
village neighborhoods behind the San Joaquin Hills
Irvine
Irvine is young, with half its houses newer than 2002, and most stucco and tile villages like Turtle Rock have metal or gas fireplaces, not brick. Modern vents still have openings, and a bird can nest in one as readily as an old stack.
north Orange County's edge at the Los Angeles County line
La Habra
Citrus and oil started La Habra at the county line, and most of the housing, over 3 homes in 4, predates 1980. When the top of an old flue has lost its screen, a bird will not be fussy about which kind of roof it lands on.
a tiny northwest Orange County city around Kennedy High School
La Palma
La Palma is small, and almost everything here went up after 1960 as stucco tract houses, condos and townhomes. A chimney on one of these houses is simple to look after, which is why its bent cap is so easy to ignore.
steep canyons above Pacific Coast Highway and the Festival grounds
Laguna Beach
A cottage chimney of brick or stone is a fine place for a bird, and the customs up Bluebird Canyon and Mystic Hills run anywhere from masonry to gas. Where a roof backs onto a canyon, the neighbors have four legs and a good nose.
the Saddleback Valley along Interstate 5 and El Toro Road
Laguna Hills
Nellie Gail Ranch gives Laguna Hills an equestrian side, with larger custom and semi-custom homes. About half the city's housing is older than 1980. Those flues have had decades to lose a screen, and big lots near riding trails give animals an easy approach.
hills a few miles from the ocean, around the regional park lake
Laguna Niguel
Older homes are the minority in Laguna Niguel, about 1 in 4 from before 1980, so metal flues likely outnumber masonry. Condos and townhomes add many roofs where nobody feels responsible for the vent top, and a persistent bird does not need much of a gap.
the Laguna Woods Village retirement community beside Irvine
Laguna Woods
Leisure World was the original name of Laguna Woods Village, begun in 1964, and detached homes are scarce, around 7 in 100. If your unit has a chimney, it may be one of several on a shared roof, and whoever hears a nest first should say so.
the Saddleback Valley around Serrano Creek and two man-made lakes
Lake Forest
Lake Forest took its name from man-made lakes and old eucalyptus groves. Most fireplaces are likely metal or gas, and a screen on either can fail quietly. Leaves and twigs reach the flue first, and a nest usually follows soon after.
a compact town beside the training base, once a naval air station
Los Alamitos
A sugar beet factory got Los Alamitos going, and postwar tracts and apartments followed near the base. Those stucco houses likely have masonry fireplaces, and roughly 7 in 10 went up before 1980, so old caps are no rare sight here.
planned hills and lakeside streets in south Orange County
Mission Viejo
Former rancho land became Mission Viejo, planned from the 1960s and mostly built through the 1980s. Half a century is a long time for a flue top, and a lakeside home with a bent cap can pick up a family of birds fast.
Balboa Island, the Peninsula, Lido Isle and Corona del Mar
Newport Beach
Small-lot cottages on Lido Isle and Balboa Island stand next to rebuilt luxury houses. A chimney on a harbor lot may be masonry, gas or factory-built, and sea air will find its way to the screen on any of them.
Old Towne around the 1888 Plaza, and east toward Santiago Creek
Orange
Around the 1888 Plaza in Old Towne Orange, old chimneys deserve careful work. Horse lots in Orange Park Acres bring open ground right up to the roofline, and wildlife will happily use a loose cap there.
north Orange County ranch tracts around the Bradford House
Placentia
Placentia means pleasant place, and most homes here are stucco ranch houses built between the fifties and seventies. A pleasant place for a bird is an old flue with no mesh, and 6 in 10 homes here predate 1980.
a young master-planned city beside O'Neill Regional Park
Rancho Santa Margarita
Masonry chimneys are rare in Rancho Santa Margarita, which was planned from the mid-1980s. A factory top on a newer roof is thinner than brick and can bend, and birds near O'Neill park will find that out.
Spanish-style streets above the pier and down to the state beach
San Clemente
Spanish homes above the pier may still have masonry, while Talega and Marblehead Coastal were built from the 1990s on with factory-built or gas units. About 56 miles from Hastings Ranch, both styles rely on a tight top to keep out birds and rain.
Los Rios adobes and tract homes around the old depot
San Juan Capistrano
Adobes in the Los Rios area, the Montanez among them, are about as old as the Mission, and some old buildings keep adobe or masonry fireplaces. A flue that old needs gentle care at the top, and a wide opening is a welcome sight to any nesting bird.
the county seat and its historic Floral Park neighborhoods
Santa Ana
French Park, Floral Park and Washington Square anchor historic Santa Ana, and postwar tracts add many stucco ranches with brick fireplaces. Whichever one you live in, chimneys here are old enough that a look at the cap makes sense.
old town by the pier, beside the national wildlife refuge
Seal Beach
Retirement co-ops at Leisure World, opened in 1962, cover a large part of Seal Beach, and Surfside Colony sits right on the sand. Nearly 9 homes in 10 here are older than 1980, and any chimney this close to salt will lose its screen sooner.
about three square miles built along Beach Boulevard
Stanton
Few Stanton homes are detached, about 1 in 4, and apartments, condos and mobile home parks crowd Beach Boulevard. Plenty of those units never had a fireplace. The older houses that do tend to have brick or block, often under a tired cap.
Old Town and the Tustin Legacy land by the blimp hangars
Tustin
Old Town Tustin has early 1900s homes with brick chimneys, and a city Cultural Resources District around them. Tustin Legacy, on the former base, has factory-built or gas units. Keeping birds out takes different hardware for each, but it is the same worry.
a small enclave of big lots near Anaheim Hills and Orange
Villa Park
Large custom homes fill Villa Park, and 9 in 10 are lived in by their owners. A big roof means a chimney that may be hard to see from the ground, and you can go years without knowing the cap has lost its mesh.
Little Saigon along Bolsa Avenue and Freedom Park
Westminster
Nearly 8 in 10 Westminster homes are older than 1980. Behind the condos and apartments on the boulevards, houses are old enough that any original metal screen has likely rusted thin.
hills above the Santa Ana River, Bryant Ranch to Savi Ranch
Yorba Linda
Newer homes fill the eastern hills of Yorba Linda, in Bryant Ranch and Black Gold, and many houses sit on larger lots. Hills and big yards mean easy approaches for wildlife, and a roof vent with a bent top looks like shelter to them.
the Mission Inn district, the Wood Streets and Canyon Crest
Riverside
Old Riverside runs from Heritage Square Victorians to Wood Streets Craftsman homes, with newer factory-built units out in Orangecrest and Canyon Crest. About 42 miles from Hastings Ranch, an old flue here faces the same risk as any: something moves in when the top fails.
the Santa Ana Canyon gateway, once the Lemon Capital
Corona
Sierra del Oro and South Corona boomed from the 1980s on, so most fireplaces here are likely metal or gas. Those thin factory tops can dent or lift, and a small opening is enough for a bird or squirrel to start building.
the full county from Catalina to Lancaster
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County is 88 cities and a lot of postwar tracts, with about 7 in 10 homes older than 1980. Nobody can sum up its chimneys in one line, but open flues invite the same birds, rats and raccoons from Lancaster down to Long Beach.
inland country from Riverside out to the Coachella Valley
Riverside County
Detached owner-occupied homes are the norm across Riverside County, from older masonry around Corona to newer tracts in Temecula, Murrieta and Eastvale. Unincorporated spots like Idyllwild and Mead Valley are their own case, since country lots bring animals close to any chimney.
the whole county, from Old Towne to San Juan Capistrano
Orange County
Orange County counts some 1.15 million homes, from Old Towne and Floral Park to unincorporated Rossmoor, North Tustin and Ladera Ranch. A 1950s brick stack and a 2000s metal vent need different parts on top, but they answer the same question: is anything getting in?
the whole county, from the Oxnard Plain to Simi Valley
Ventura County
Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley are largely postwar tracts and newer planned homes, and about 65 percent of Ventura County households own theirs. A flue in either place needs a sound top, because birds and rodents never check which county they are in.
Hastings Ranch, Chapman Woods or a street with no page?
Hastings Ranch itself has no page here: it is our home neighborhood, covered on the Pasadena page. Send your address and we tell you which day reaches it.