By Diana Poulos-Lutz

Dunlin murmurations are mesmerizing.  You can read more about mumurations in general here.

On Long Island, you can find Dunlin spending the winter months along the shoreline.

They mostly stay together in groups, and will periodically participate in murmurations in which they fly in what looks like beautifully choreographed mid-air shapes and patterns.

This behavior helps dunlin evade, confuse and perhaps overwhelm predators.  Oddly enough they don’t seem threatened by humans as long as one is respectful of their space while remaining still and quiet.

If you are patient and mindful near the dunlin, you may be lucky enough to witness one of their wonderful murmurations.

The video above and images below were taken Sunday March 19th on a South Shore beach.