Oh, I am so jealous. I hear them and see them but they never come close to any of my 3 suet feeders. What kind of suet do you buy? Please post more pictures. Thanks

They look like they have a spike hairdo...I think my son had that color hair at one time...lol

patti

What do you mean, don't get jealous???? Of course I'm jealous!!!!!
I love the pictures Lydia, especially that last one.

Linda

I'm jealous, too!! You're asking the impossible, Lydia!

How did you attract them to your house? Have you changed your hair to a bright red mohawk and grown an unusually long nose?

Looks like you have babies! Congrats! I have 2 Baby Flickers and 2 Baby Red Bellies so far. Pileateds have not been by with theirs yet.

Lydia, in that second pic, is the mother feeding the one on the right? Looks like her beak is in the other one's! Cool pics, I love pileateds. We have one that is tearing up an big stump, but rarely get to see it.

Oh man, that is so wonderful. Is it a family group?

I hope my one lone pileated fledgling brings his extended family over to visit.

Oh, what a great family!!
JoanMN

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)

I save the mesh bags that things like oranges come in all year. I make this suit and add fancy dried fruits and some choped nuts, stick it in the mesh bag then decorate with pine boughs and cranberries for Christmas gifts.

Lydia, I am jealous. I had two adult pileated woodpeckers, but no babies....lucky you. I make pretty much the same kind of homemade birdfood and all of our birds (and the squirrels too) love it. We have 5 feeders that hubby made ( 2 X 4's with roofs and holes with perches) and fill them twice a day. This is the recipe I use:

1+ C lard
1+ C peanut butter ( crunchy or smooth)
1 C wheat flour
3 C cornmeal
1/2 C wheat germ
Cut together with pastry blender, then mix with hands, adding:
1/2 box of raisins
1 bag fruit bits
1 bag cranberries
1 C chopped nuts (if I have them)
1 C birdseed with black oil sunflower seeds

I usually make two batches at a time and store in empty plastic coffee cans.