Indiana: Police officer rescues Snowy Owl stuck to grill of car after being hit on freeway

INDIANA -- Bloomington Police @BPD_MN posted on Twitter December 11, 2017

Say hi to Officer George & his new friend. A driver had hit this owl on I-494 & now this beauty was lodged in the grill of the car. Officer George arrived & was able to free the owl.

Fortunately the owl only had minor injuries & was transported to the Raptor Center for treatment.

North Carolina: Raleigh police help rescue hawk stuck in truck grille

NORTH CAROLINA -- An unlucky hawk got stuck in the grille of a U-Haul truck over the weekend, according to a witness who watched as a Raleigh police officer worked to free the bird.

Leslie Ansley, who posted photos of the hawk rescue on social media, said she pulled over when she saw the hawk stuck in the truck on New Hope Road in Southeast Raleigh Saturday a little after noon.

She said a police officer and an animal control officer were able to get the hawk free. In an interview Monday she said, “I saw this hawk fly away.”

She said she was on her way home Saturday around noon when she saw “a U-Haul with a huge wingspan across the grille.”

In the photo the hawk, most likely a red tail, has it’s legs caught in the grille of the large U-Haul truck.

(News & Observer - May 15, 2017)

Connecticut: Officer rescues barred owl trapped in the grille of a car

CONNECTICUT -- An owl is recovering after getting stuck in the grill of a truck traveling from Willimantic to Groton on Thursday.

Steve Martin noticed something was wrong with his truck when he got to Groton on Thursday. After spotting the bird of prey, he immediately called the Groton animal control who came and took the owl to safety.

After receiving some help from the Groton animal control, the barred owl was taken to the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic.

Officials at the Nature Center said they didn't see any obvious, major injuries on the bird. and expect it to recover.

"The first 24 hours really can be quite critical,"  Maggie Jones, who is the executive director of nature center, said. "There could be something that is not quite obvious to us."

Officials at the Nature Center said  they'll keep the owl overnight for observation and if all goes well, it could be released as early as Saturday.

 

(EyeWitnessNews3 - Oct 21, 2016)

Florida: Good Samaritan chases down driver of car with bald eagle stuck in grill; police and firefighters rescue him

FLORIDA -- What appeared at first to be a 3D decal on the front of a car bumper, turned out to be a live eagle.

The driver who noticed the eagle stuck in the front grill of a passing car made a u-turn and then chased down the vehicle and alerted police.

Clay County police and firefighters were soon on the seen, and were able to dislodge the eagle. The bird apparently became lodged in the front of the car when it flew too close in front of the oncoming vehicle.

"The bird is alive and was turned over to the B.E.A.K.S. Wildlife Sanctuary," the Clay County Sheriff's Office reported on Facebook. "Great job by all involved."

Owner of the bird sanctuary, Cynthia Mosling, told CNN the eagle doesn't appear to have any serious injuries and is standing up, alert and walking around. She believes the eagle is a mature male, at least seven years old.

Mosling and her colleagues named the bird "Matthew" after the hurricane that recently passed through Florida. Matthew will be released after being nursed back to full health.

Update:
"BEAKS is doing an amazing job caring for Bald Eagle Matthew and all the rescued birds from the storm. We are so very proud of Mrs. Billi West who is part of our CCSO family, and of all the CCSO and CCFR members who assisted in the call to help!" - Clay County Sheriff's Office, Florida

(UPI - Oct 9, 2016)

1/1/14: A very lucky Snowy Owl

OHIO -- With well over 100 Snowy Owls thus far reported in Ohio - biggest irruption in many decades - interesting stories are bound to arise. These birds draw lots of attention, and nearly everyone who has the fortune of seeing one is suitably impressed.

 

One downside, for the owls, is that nearly all of them are juveniles, and utterly unfamiliar with vehicles. Couple that naiveté with their propensity to hunt near roads, and fly close to the ground, and owl-vehicle strikes will happen.

I've heard of at least four cases of Snowy Owls killed in collisions with vehicles so far, and some say that this is the biggest cause of mortality for owls south of the breeding grounds, at least in populous areas.

So, when I first saw these photos, I was bummed - another owl gets grilled. But a quick skim of the email they were attached to reveals a happy ending, it seems. The gentleman was driving along a rural Wood County road when the owl came out of nowhere and bashed into the front of his pickup truck.

The collision was hard enough to crack one of the slats in the grill - these birds can weigh 4-5 lbs, or more - and the owl popped right through and was stuck between the grill and the engine compartment. But it is still alive, and fortunate indeed that the right guy was driving the truck.

The driver quickly worked the owl free, and placed it on the passenger seat in the warm cab of the truck. While the bird was undoubtedly a bit dazed and confused, and some feathers appear out of place, it doesn't look too worse for the wear.

Anyway, while the guy was no doubt pondering what to do with the animal, it shook itself off, and darted out the door. The driver reports that it flew strongly across the fields, and out of sight.

Here's hoping it suffered no lasting damage. If it had to collide with a vehicle, it's probably good that it happened to be this one, as many people probably wouldn't have been able to deal with the situation rapidly, and successfully extricate the bird.

UPDATE: This same owl, apparently, is doing well and hunting in the same area, at least as of January 1. Look for it near the junction of South Dixie Highway and State Route 281 in Wood County, not far south of the town of Rudolph.

(Jim McCormac - Jan 1, 2014)