Do you have a place in your yard for the birds to do their dusting, sun bathing, and anting?  We are not meeting our bird's needs just by providing nest boxes, feeders and water.  Dusting is important to help remove external parasites, dry feathers, and help realign feather barbs and barbules.

Anting has been observed in over 250 species of birds and is said to rid or reduce bird external parasites and possible soothe skin irritations.  You may have observed birds sun bathing by spreading their tail and wing feathers.  This can also help drive out external parasites and increase body temperature.  Editor's note - anting is the process of a bird taking ants and rubbing them through their feathers or even squirming around in an ant hill. It is thought the biocidal properties of the ant secretions is helpful in ridding the bird of various parasites.

It is insightful for me to watch various resident and migratory birds going through the dusting and sun bathing behavior.  I have even had a family of eastern cottontail rabbits and several species of lizards come on an almost daily basis to stretch out in the hot sand for maybe some of the same reasons.

If you do not already have a dusting and sun bathing area for your birds, it may be time for you to consider it. Go into that beautiful green monoculture lawn that you have worked so hard to weed, feed, water, and mow.   Select an area, preferably in the sun, close to your bird bath(s) and / or feeders, where the birds are already coming.   Pulverize the area to about a foot deep so that it looks similar to a horseshoe pitching trap; a size 4 feet by 4 feet square is a start.  If you are lucky enough to already have sandy soil that is a plus.  If not, you may need to dig out the fertile soil that you have cultivated so long, and replace it with fine white sand.  The smaller the sand particles and the higher the reflective value, the better it will be for dusting and sun bathing. The sand is droughty enough to discourage grass and weeds, but if you need to retard grass encroachment, you can put a border around it.  If you do not have a natural source of sand, you can obtain mortar sand from a ready-mix company or use the play sand sold at home supply or landscape retailers.  The finer the grain size the better it will be for dusting and the whiter it is the better for sun bathing and heat radiation.

Once this is in place, sit back and enjoy the insight that you can gain from yet another element of the bird's world and other wildlife use may be an extra bonus."

Jerry W. Davis, Forest Wildlife Program Manager