I'd love to see a pileated woodpecker! They're so unique. You're fortunate to be able to see them frequently.
Robin

Anyone who would like to see these birds is welcome to contact me and come have a look see. Email to r80r@yahoo.com for more info. Thanks, charlotte

I know what you mean; often I am convinced I'm seeing an Ivory-bill and it's fun to imagine it.

Comparisons between Ivory-bills and Pileated Woodpeckers:

Ivory-billed Woodpeckers are three inches longer than Pileateds, have white beaks, black chins, a white triangle on their backs, large white patches on their wings visible while perching, females have black crest, they make a distinct double rap, call resembles the sound of a toy trumpet; a high pitched "yank" like a super-sized White-breasted Nuthatch, and they need huge tracts of old growth river bottom forests without human disturbance.

They used to be very common, but disappeared with the old forests near the turn of the century

Wish I lived closer. I'd be there in a heartbeat to see them.

I recently had my first woodpecker experience. I'm new to birdwatching. It was my first real 'wow moment'. It was either a Ladder-Backed or a Downy Woodpecker. I wish I could have taken a picture. It danced around for a long time running up the branches and pecking.

We also have many Pileated Woodpecker. Last spring a pair used this dead pine to build a nest and produce two babies. I think they are back in the same tree this year. Hope to get better pictures.

Whoa! How did you get those photos, spooky as they are?

Ronm80-nice shots! Where are you located that you're able to see the pileateds?

Thanks, I live in south Ga. We moved out in the country 2 years age, I never saw any Pileated in town. Wish I could get them to come to my suet feeders.

ronm80 - I live in north GA and have had pileateds around for two decades but never one at a feeder. We have waaaayyyy to many bugs year around - who eats the canned stuff when you can have homemade?? My sister, who lives in Massachusetts, has a pileated on her suet daily and she lives in an apartment with a little feeding system the poor bird has to cling to one seed feeder to reach a different suet feeder above - quite awkward looking and irritating as the dikens to a southerner like myself. It comes on her balcony.

Right now I have a pair of them and the drumming is LOUD. Right next to the house. If a neighbor was that loud, I'd fuss. Bird? Fine by me!

Love the photos. Thanks for posting them. :)

I took these rough pics out of my bedroom window (through the glass) a few weeks ago. Pileated (I guess)

It helps if you have dead trees nearby.

God help you if one of these guys comes after the cedar siding on your house

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

I'm envious! I've never taken nice clear photos of a Pileated.

First time I saw a pileated it was because sawdust was coming from a tree so fast it looked like someone was running a chainsaw up in the tree. Amazing to watch.

I love the photos...especially the babies peeking out from the nest hole. :) We have them in our yard periodically and here's one of my photos.
Pam

{{!gwi}}

Pam! Love your photo too! Anyone want to share the secret of getting close to these beauties? Around here they are long gone if they even suspect humans.

I would enjoy roaming the area with you, if I lived closer.

Pileateds are a favorite of mine. Not all that uncommon here in east Tennessee. I have one on my list at my favorite local wildlife refuge that I "will" get a good photo of one day, he / she makes this one look like a baby .... it is HUGE. I took this photo back in the fall.

{{!gwi}}

Sheesh ..... I've been away for a little while and forget how to add a photo! I am getting old. LOL

This one looks very similar to Pam's fine photo.

{{!gwi}}

Awesome photos, you guys -- thanks!!

i am fairly new to birdwatching, but found it goes hand in hand with my obsessive gardening. i have a couple of simple suet feeders attached to a small oak tree about fifteen feet from my patio window and to date, i have a downy woodpecker,a pair of northern flickers and a pair of pileated woodpeckers.
there is a rotting telephone pole along the road directly in front of my patio which i can see perfectly from my chair with binoculars. i see them all on it at some point during any given day. i think the flickers are nesting in there.
i was sitting out having my morning coffee a few weeks ago when this huge black bird came to my suet feeder. at first i thought it was a pesky crow,and i was about to chase it off, but then i saw the white and red head and sat back down. i couldn't believe it;(i nearly soiled myself lol) right in front of me!
now i see them frequently- they love suet. you cannot miss them if you use your ears; they have the loudest cackle around.

Gorgeous photo, Bob! Still, nobody has told the secret of approaching these guys!

secret? peanut butter and jelly suet