Buzzard unruffled by its road trip stuck in car’s radiator grille
A BUZZARD somehow survived being trapped in a car grille during a 16-mile journey after flying into the vehicle.
The driver was unaware he had hit the bird of prey after spotting it swooping across the A38.
He thought it had flown by and it wasn’t until he reached the Toyota factory, in Burnaston, that he discovered the bird was wedged in his grille, inside the engine compartment next to the car’s radiator – but still alive.
Somehow the buzzard escaped unhurt despite her terrifying ordeal. She has now been successfully released back near where she came from – but away from the busy dual carriageway. The stunned car driver had called South Derbyshire-based Linjoy Wildlife Sanctuary and Rescue, which came to rescue the bird.
A spokesman for the rescue centre said: “We were called on June 25 by a gentleman at the Toyota factory in Burnaston after he had discovered a buzzard stuck between the grille and radiator of his car.
“He had been travelling on the A38 at Ripley and saw the buzzard suddenly dive after a mouse running across the road but presumed it went into the grass. He was unaware that he had hit the bird and it was now trapped on the front of the vehicle. It was only when he got to work, around 16 miles away, that he discovered the bird. “We went out and the grille was removed. The buzzard was carefully extracted and brought to the sanctuary for examination. Miraculously the buzzard is totally uninjured. She has no wounds, no broken bones and no bruises, although she was given pain relief.”