AMHERST, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) -New Year’s celebrations were a real hoot for one Amherst man after an unusual passenger was found waiting in his daughter’s car.

Fred Bartmon tells us it started when his daughter’s partner went to warm up her car on New Year’s morning.

He left the car alone for just a few minutes.. came back out.. and saw something he didn’t expect.

An Eastern Screech Owl! The family says they thought it could be injured or in distress so they called Cummington Wildlife Inc. to help.

Rescuers assumed one of them had pulled over to help the owl and put it in their car, but that wasn’t the case.

The owl somehow managed to get in the locked car all on its own even with all the doors and windows closed.

Regardless, Fred and his family held onto the little owl by letting it stay in the car until help could come and they even gave him a name.

“All three of my nephews went to Indiana University. And my brother-in-law is a professor there. And we’re very fond of IU. So we named him ‘Hoosier’,” Fred told us, “Owls are supposed to bring good luck on New Year’s Day. And I don’t think the Hoosiers needed any luck, but they won the Rose Bowl.”

As for Hoosier... he got picked up by Raptor Rehabilitator, Tom Ricardi, a retired Environmental police officer who is renowned in western Mass. for his work.

Ricradi is now caring for the owl, to bring it back to health.

He told Fred that he thinks Hoosier got into the car through the engine compartment since owls can wiggle into some small spaces.

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