Community Chat

[Shorty2U]

Please don't laugh if you knew the following. (Yes, I am a former city slicker living in the country now so I had no clue..lol). Just like the first time I saw a fox (live in person) hanging around our yard, I was not too thrilled to go on our deck. (and my husband joked that he can tell Im from the city..lol).

Anyway- I keep finding dirt on our porch from the (now) empty planter box (that's like built into the porch).

I kept sweeping it up every so often thinking how does this dirt keep coming out of this planter box?

So today when we came back from running to the store, I said to my husband geesh I just swept the porch a few days ago and now theres dirt all over again. What the heck, its not windy or anything?

He says the birds bathe themselves in dirt in the Winter (I guess? due to water being frozen and or lacking).

I never knew this, did you? (It really makes no sense because IMO theyre getting dirtier by bathing in dirt! lol.

We have bird feeders in the front and the back and I love to watch the birds (mostly in the back through the kitchen window). But I never actually saw them do this.

But this is what my husband said as to why theres dirt on the porch every other day.

Mystery solved!

[raven-blackbird]

LOL yeah I knew they did this................even city girls watch the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet don't they.................BTW, other animals do it too including horses, zebras............for reason's other then birds but they still take dust/dirt baths.............................................raven

[JustJazzmom]

The reason the birds are bathing in the dirt is to suffocate any mites on their feathers.

I see this all the time with sparrows here in the summer in an area of my neighbor's yard that has no plants in the soil. We have snow on the ground right now.

[colliemom4]

I never knew that. Thanks for sharing.

[sylviahomeatlast]

Yes I knew that they dust bathe in my back yard )

[sylviahomeatlast]

I think they're ridding themselves of parasites

[sylviahomeatlast]

I think they're ridding themselves of parasites

[mousiegirl]

Little birds take baths in the ash catcher of my Webber, so adorable to see. I didn't know about actual dirt.

[Kachina624]

I get tired of the birds picking apart my door wreaths that have artificial berries in them. Apparently they relish styrofoam.

[feline groovy]

I didn't know that, but I do now! Thanks, all.