My husband and I got to see the greatest thing several years ago--I guess they were banding to go migrate, or something. We were blessed to see 12 of them, one right after another, flying past.We have several nesting pairs too, could have been parents and young.

no advice, just chiming in to say I'm jealous! If I saw a pileated wood pecker on my property I'd be thrilled. I hope you're successful in finding a suet feeder the squirrels won't monopolize. this is an interesting feeder, the pileated is enjoying it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXePlTk8sFg The long bottom looks like it's so they can brace themselves against it or stay steady (cause they're so BIG!) this one says that bottom is a 'kick stand'. They show a suet feeder that is 'somewhat squirrel resistant' ymmv http://wildbirdsunlimited.typepad.com/the_zen_birdfeeder/2010/04/bird-feeders-for-pileated-woodpeckers-think-big.html no ideas here, just a really cool video of one eating suet w/a view from above http://www.care2.com/causes/hungry-woodpecker-chowing-on-suet-video.html this lady had a good idea 'You have several options. Pileated tend to like tailprops. So, my suggestion is to baffle a tail prop from a tree with an erva disk (green). It has to be positioned 10 ft from the tree trunk, as squirrels can jump laterally 10 ft. It also has to be high enough that they will not jump from the bottom. When the squirrel attempts to go over it, the baffle will dump the squirrel to the ground. This will take a few times, but the tenacious little guy will give up and move on. Hope this helps.' the site her post is on http://community.birdsandblooms.com/forums/t/4063.aspx baffles seem to be the best bet. That was what was suggested to me earlier this year on this forum when I was having trouble with squirrels on my suet feeders. I ended up w/a cage-type suet feeder which isn't used as heavily as the reg. cage feeder, but the squirrels can't get to it, so it does work. Pileated are just too big to bother w/a cage I think. They say cayenne helps keep squirrels out of suet & birdseed. Years ago, I tried sprinkling it in w/dry birdseed but didn't see enough difference to continue. Also, the hot pepper can be dangerous to other wildlife. Maybe if you can find suet that has it added already, you could try? Good luck, it's great seeing them & having them on your property would be really cool!

Great photo! Almost all of the times I've seen them, they're on tree stumps, chomping away.

Thanks konrad, I do have Photo Bucket, but haven't been to their site for awhile. Catherinet, when I first saw him land on the tree stump, I ran for my camera thinking for sure he would be gone by the time I got out the door to take pics, but he was still there. I know he had to see me taking pictures. He was only 15-18 feet from where I was standing on my front porch....just on the other side of our driveway. I got 42 pictures.....2 were videos of him pecking away at that tree stump. I was so happy that I saw him that close because I had seen him flying a few times and he always landed in a tree across the street. Then he would go on the backside of the tree where I couldn't see him.