I just love these guys hanging around my australian pines. I just wish they didn't attack the gutters first thing in the morning! It's enough to wake the dead. (and makes my cat leap off the bed) Thanks for the pic. Hester

Great pictures, Kara! Aren't pileated woodpeckers just magnificent? There's something rather primeval about them. We have a pair in our neighborhood, though they are at my friend's house more often than at mine. They seem to have staked out her oaks as their prime real estate. Doesn't it just make your day when you have critters like this guy to share your garden with? Marcia

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.

Thanks for the comments. It is a mother Pileated and her 3 babies (although they look almost as big as her! lol). There is a state wildlife area near us, so I've had the Pileated's visiting for the 15 years I've lived in this house. Ron, I make my own suet... pour it into a wax paper lined cake pan, let harden and then cut into 8 cakes. I don't follow the recipe exact, some days there is more of one thing and less than another, but the birds like it anyhow. You can add raisins and other things if you like. 1 lb. Lard 1 lb. Crunchy Peanut butter Melt those two together over low heat in a large pot, then add the following: 2 cups wheat flour 3 cups cornmeal 3 cups oatmeal (regular, not quick or instant)