The bird of prey was stuck in the front of the motor for 24 hours after a 50 mile drive.
The driver didn’t spot it until the day after they unknowingly hit.It even survived the long journey stuck in the engine cavity.
The bizarre incident happened near Halwell, Devon.
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The driver journeyed all the way to Dartmoor and back – along with their hapless bird stowaway passenger.
The adult male was eventually rescued from the grill by two local mechanics Dave Diston and Aidan Lawrence.
The motorist raised the alarm with Ash Rescue Centre in Dartmouth.
Amazingly despite the impact and very tight squeeze the robust buzzard was unhurt.
Jenny Rogers, the manager of the centre said: “It’s miraculous.
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“I’ve never seen a buzzard like that.
“The driver thinks it got in there as he flew across the road.
“They thought he had gone into the hedge.
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“But he had got stuck in the panel under the car and worked his way around.”
He had been like that for 24 hours but as soon as the driver saw him they called us.
“A huge thank you to Dave and Aidan who did an amazing job of taking the car apart to get him out.”
A quick inspection showed the buzzard had no breaks.
“He’s a very lucky bird – he was so twisted up and cramped – it’s incredible.”
The buzzard was nursed back to health by the rescue centre staff and incredibly released back into the wild just a few days after its ordeal.
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