"JimR" wrote in message
k.net...
What about Ibis or Sandhill Cranes? They leave exactly the type of hole
you're describing as they look for grubs and worms . . . but I don't know
if you have them that far north -- Regards --
"Eggs Zachtly" wrote in message
...
Ralph Mowery said:
"Eggs Zachtly" wrote in message
...
dicko said:

Crayfish burrows.

There would be evidence of the excavated dirt. The OP stated that
wasn't
the case.

I had thought of the crayfish as there is a small stream about 25 feet
from
the holes, but did not know what one of their holes look like and I have
not
seen any crayfish around. There are no built up mounds. They look like
they were punched in the fround by a pipe or stick. I do live in the
middle
of North Carolina . I have seen squirrls, rabbits, turtles,frogs, black
snakes, but nothing digging or comming out of the holes.

Called the local agurcurtual agent and he mentioned the cicadas or the
cicada killers. Have not seen either of those either.

You most likely won't see the cicada, but I'm sure you hear them, daily.
Cicada killers have been out in force here, lately. They kill a cicada,
bury it, and lay an egg in it, IIRC. I'm sure you'd see the excavated
dirt.
I'd say it's most likely something (beetles, cicada, etc.) emerging from
the ground, rather than digging from above. Perhaps, a little bit of
both.
Eggs

My first thought when seeing this was some neighbor running around in the
middle of the night poking a pole into the ground all over the yard just to
goof on old Ralph here. Could very well be grin. I did start doubting
myself when upon closer look I see that around each hole there is _no_
vegetation - every hole for about a half inch. So the clue here is that
something removed the vegetation around each hole. What eliminated this
vegetation is a key here.
Tomes