It is impossible to capture in a static image the magic of sanderlings ballets. As these birds have a white chest and a dark back, the colour of the flight keeps changing each time the birds change direction. This happens every few seconds in a perfectly synchronized fluid manner. I have read that these sudden colour changes of the whole bird pack act as a confusing tactics against larger predator birds. I have also read that the moves of the whole murmuration are initiated by a single leading bird. Most other birds can not see the leader, but the move gets instantly propagated from the front to the back of the squad because each bird strictly mimicks the moves of its own closest neighbour.
