How do folks

Newby here. I wonder if anyone out there can help answer my query.

Recently a couple of holes have appeared on my lawn. I have no idea
what caused them and wonder if anyone can help identify the cause from
my description.

I know they're not mole holes, because I've had plenty of those in the
past. The holes are small in diameter, somewhere round about half an
inch or 3/4 inch, and there is no sign of any earth (spoil) around the
holes. The holes go down at an angle rather than being straight down. I
poked a cyrtain wire down them to see if I could see if anything was in
them, but no luck. They appear to be about 12 to 15 inches to the end,
and curve slightly as they go down, so that they appear to be more or
less parallel to the surface of the lawn at the end (as far as I can
tell using the curtain wire "probe").

Any ideas? Could they have been dug by a small animal? And if so, why
isn't there any earth around the holes? I've never seen anything like
them before although we've lived here over 20 years.

Any help appreciated!

Cheers

Flummoxed