Whenever I have put out a new feeder, it has taken a week or two for the birds to find it, and likewise it is usually the Chickadees that figure it out first. Such curious and intelligent little birds. The exception was the small suet cage with raw suet that I hung on the trunk of a big Oak tree last year. Then it was a Downy that found the cage almost immediately.

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!

I've found some brands of pre-made suet blocks to be significantly more popular than others; Morning Song year round suet is liked far more than Blain's Farm & Fleet. They seem to be popular with woodpeckers of various types, Downy, Red-Headed, and Hairy I've seen. BOSS is very popular in my tube feeders, but do want to try the shelled variety to eliminate the shell waste. Corn seemed to be liked by Cardinals and Blue Jays, but also attracted lots and lots of Grackles, ugh. Thistle is liked by the smaller birds, especially finches, but I think they go for the bigger seeds more if they are available. Lots of various sparrows and similar smaller birds, Mourning Doves (counted 27 at one time, all at once), no Eurasian doves here but I have seen them in the fields a few mles away. Some Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks, just saw a male Dark Eyed Junco this morning. 55 miles west of Chicago is the location. vince

I just hung an additional feeder, this one with seeds in a tube inside some wire mesh to discourage squirrels. Even that has been ignored so far. Saw the same dark eyed juncos that like to look for the seeds in some straw strewn over grass seed planted, but they haven't caught on to "look up" yet.