Scouts and New Pole

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Elmo
Posts: 49
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2015 10:40 am
Location: TX/San Antonio

Just saw first scouts yesterday and I'm trying to put up my new pole (third one). I'm a foot and a half deep and I've been jackhammering through solid rock for about a foot. Any others with rocky soil have any suggestions on how much further I need to go?
C.C.Martins
Posts: 3368
Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2017 11:15 am
Location: Corpus Christi Tx
Martin Colony History: 2016- Visitors.
2017- 5 pair. 15 fledged
2018- 18 pair. 85 fledged
2019- 17 pair. 81 fledged
2020- 25 pair. 111 fledged
2021- 28 pair. 118 fledged
2022- 33 pair. 151 fledged
2023- 33 pair. 165 fledged
2024- 40 pair. 185 fledged
2025- 40 pair. 181 fledged
HOSP:
Home colony: mix natural, super, Troyer and excluder gourds, enlarged compartment house. All SREH.

Satellite colony: Oso Bay Preserve: 49 PMCA excluder gourds; 16 room Lonestar Goliad with Modified Excluder entrances.
2019: Visitors
2020: 3 pair, 11 fledged
2021: 10 pair, 30 fledged
2022: 11 pair, 35 fledged
2023: 18 pair, 101 fledged
2024: 39 pair, 181 fledged
2025: 51 pair, 216 fledged
PMCA member

6.5 feet will be a good depth.

Haha, sorry. How about making the hole wider? Deep as your able but wider?
A good house sparrow is a dead house sparrow.
HOSP: 17. Starlings: 23
Conrad Baker
Posts: 754
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2007 7:43 pm
Location: Paulina, Louisiana

What type of housing are you putting on it, and do you plan to set it in concrete, or just refill the hole with dirt?
Elmo
Posts: 49
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2015 10:40 am
Location: TX/San Antonio

Concrete. Wider is possible but Im still drilling through rock. Im thinking maybe another six inches. Filling this, essentially rock bowl , with concrete and I dont think the pole is going anywhere.
Conrad Baker
Posts: 754
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2007 7:43 pm
Location: Paulina, Louisiana

Elmo wrote:
Tue Feb 11, 2025 3:22 pm
Concrete. Wider is possible but Im still drilling through rock. Im thinking maybe another six inches. Filling this, essentially rock bowl , with concrete and I dont think the pole is going anywhere.
What are you mounting on top of it?? Housing, feeding tray ?? 18 inches should be good, but another 6 inches will definitely be insurance.
Elmo
Posts: 49
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2015 10:40 am
Location: TX/San Antonio

Six excluder gourds. Thanks for all the replies. Im going to try to go a little deeper.
Conrad Baker
Posts: 754
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2007 7:43 pm
Location: Paulina, Louisiana

I was thinking that after you dig as deep as possible, maybe you could build a 6 or 12 inch high box form around the base of the pole and put more concrete in that. It would certainly beef up your base and support for the pole. Let us know how it turns out.
malbin
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2017 10:25 am
Location: Wichita Kansas

Maybe drill a hole in the rock the same size as the pole and let the pole go down into the rock and then cement arount it to the top of the ground.
Elmo
Posts: 49
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2015 10:40 am
Location: TX/San Antonio

Thanks again for all the replies. Great idea about building up the base. Lord knows I have enough rock around here to do that with. LOL
MY FYN 79
Posts: 163
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2018 8:58 pm
Location: Chilton Wisconsin
Martin Colony History: 2019 - Sighting
2020 - Pair investigating
2021 - Got 2 eggs. HOSPs poked holes in them. Commence HOSP reduction
2022 - Off to a good start, tree swallows took over and Martins left
2023 - Off to a good start, Martin population dwindled and they eventually left
2024 - New standalone pole and gourd rack. 1 nest, 4 eggs, none hatched
2025 - 9 nests, 37 eggs, 23 hatched, 19 fledged!

Sounds like you might have a good plan, but another option in case it would make sense -

A guy I know hired a place to put a nice cedar fence with posts by his barn for animals. They hit massive ledge rock when trying to dig holes for some of the posts. There was no way they were going to try drilling through the ledge, so they actually ended up anchoring some of the posts to the ledge. Granted the ledge was a solid piece and very stable, but an option none the less. Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do!
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