Certainly must be exciting. We've seen them a handful of times in various places in PA, but mostly in deep woods and forests in the northern tier counties. We've never seen a pair, though, only solitary birds. It would be really something if they established a nest on your property, wouldn't it. I've never heard a pileated's call, in fact I thought they were more or less mute, with their drumming being their main mode of territorial communication. So your observation is illuminating to me. We've found that we could get real close to these birds during several of our encounters with them. I can see how their movements would appear agitated, but comparing them with observations of other woodpecker species, I think their jerky and erratic movements, especially when foraging on tree trunks, are pretty characteristic of woodpeckers in general. Somehow I have always had the impression that woodpeckers are among the dimwits of the bird world. I can't explain why this seems so to me, exactly, but maybe it's because they seem so oblivious to my presence even when I have stood very near to them. I also have this notion that any creature that finds its sustenance by beating its head against oak and other hardwoods all day must have evolved in conjunction with a trend toward a minimal number of brain cells. I don't mean to diminish your admiration for the pileated by my less flattering observations - they just arose due to my questionable sense of humor. In fact, a pileated siting is a breathtaking occurence, in my opinion. There's something so uncanny in their physical appearance and bearing, and I always find myself wondering "How can this fantastic creature" - they do bring pteridactyls to mind, don't they? - "be inhabiting the twentieth millenium instead of prehistory?" Hope you see 'em again. By the way, what kind of habitat is around your property? Do you have a lot of old established trees or extensive woodlands? These are the only habitats in which I've ever seen them, and my sitings have always occurred well north of Bucks County. cranebill

I discovered this past year that always having suet available made a huge difference in the number and type of birds that visit my yard. The 4 suet feeders are the only feeders outside the kitchen window and seed feeders are located some distance away. This allows the smaller birds that like suet to easily feed. The Pileated Woodpecker in the pic below showed up this winter but I have to be standing in the kitchen to know when he has visited. He doesn't hang around very long!

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.

The major bullies at my feeders are the mockingbirds. I have one who comes by now and then just to perch on one of the feeders and run off any other birds who attempt to land, and he's not even interested in the food that's that feeder! However, last fall I witnessed a "Gun Fight at the OK Corral"---a face off between the mockingbird and the red-belly over a platform feeder with lots of good nuts, fruit and seeds. After a lengthy stare-down, the red-belly won the day--the mockingbird capitulated and flew away.