Dust Holes

Saturday, 17th August 2002, West Yorkshire

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There are seven saucer-sized holes in the bare earth of the garden border by the hedge. The heavy rain we had two weeks ago battered the soil where we'd taken out a broom and other plants. Since then, in dry weather, the top quarter inch of soil has hardened to a crust.

I don't remember having stepped on the bed. We wondered in next door's dog has been scraping the soil there on one of its forays into our garden.

sparrows dustbathing

Which ever way the holes got started it's the local sparrows that are using them. I've seen them dustbathing there on a sunny afternoon. I guess that they excavated the holes themselves.

Richard Bell,
wildlife illustrator
E-mail; 'richard@willowisland.co.uk'