Drivers get out of their cars to help group of small birds get across busy Va. highway unharmed

CENTREVILLE, Va. - Some Good Samaritans made sure a flock of small birds received safe passage across a busy Fairfax County highway to the side of the road.

Jesse Harshbarger was traveling southbound on Sully Road (Route 28) just south of Westfields Boulevard on Wednesday at around 7:45 p.m. when he encountered the goslings on the left shoulder while vehicles were zooming by. The whole incident was captured on video by Jesse's son, Owen, an eighth grade student at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax.

In the video, the birds were seen walking into the left lane of the three-lane roadway, which causes cars to slow down and use the shoulder and other two lanes to avoid them. Eventually, Harshberger pulls over to the right shoulder and gets out of his vehicle to help escort the animals to the right guardrail of the highway.

Several other people also pulled over and got out of their vehicles to help Harshberger move and carry the family of birds to the grassy area on the right side of the entrance ramp.

It appears the young birds were looking for their parents.

"When the commuters decided to drive around the stopped vehicles as the parents were directing the chics to the side of the road, they drove over top of the chics and the parents flew over the median across the highway. They all cried to one another but the parents got lost and couldn't find where the chics were after flying back and forth over the highway," Harshberger commented on the video posted on his Facebook page. "We watched as the parents flew back and forth scanning... but not sure where the parents ended up. We sent the chics to the nearby wildlife clinic. Sad they were separated but at least I was able to collect all the chics safely."