Is There Dusting At Your House?
Jerry Wayne Davis
June 7, 1990
Is there dusting at your house? No, I am not checking to see what kind of housekeeper you are and if you have been running around with a rag and a can of Pledge.
What I am asking is, do you have a place in your yard for the birds to do their dusting, sunbathing, and anting? We are not meeting our birds’ 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. And 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 sunbathing by spreading their tail and wing feathers. This can also help drive out external parasites and increase body temperature.
It is insightful for me to watch various resident and migratory birds going through the dusting and sunbathing 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 have a dusting, anting and sunbathing area for your birds, it is time to consider it.
Go into that beautiful green monoculture lawn that you have worked so hard to weed, feed, water, spray and mow. Select an area 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 for 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 sunbathing. 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 in summer and winter from yet another element of the bird’s world and rabbits, squirrels, and other wildlife use can be an extra bonus.
