A juvenile red-tailed hawk miraculously survived a journey of approximately 200 miles after becoming lodged in the front grille of a car in Northern California. The driver discovered the bird when stopping for gas at a Chevron station in Weed.
The Weed Police Department received a call regarding the unusual discovery. Initially, dispatchers believed it was a smaller bird, but were informed it was an eagle, prompting them to advise the driver not to touch the bird and to dispatch officers. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife responded to the scene.
Officials managed to safely extract the hawk. According to reports, the bird's wings were intact, and it had not sustained broken bones in its legs or wings, only mild swelling from the impact. The hawk was struck by the vehicle near the I-5 and 505 interchange, close to Dunnigan, and remained in the grille for the duration of the trip to Weed, a journey of nearly three hours.
A witness at the gas station described the bird as calm and trusting during the rescue. "They managed to kind of dislodge the wing from the grille of the car and then very gently put it into a box," the witness told ABC10. "I thought for sure it was a goner, but it was blinking and looking around calmly."
The juvenile hawk is now receiving treatment at a wildlife rehabilitation facility, and its prognosis is reported as good.