Awesome Greeting card quality photographs. I do love to look at snow in photos. But Ill stick to my Florida sunshine. Today it was cold enough,49 degrees RRRRRRRRRR Now thats COLD for Florida. It will be warm by noon thank goodness. My ducks keep peeking in the screened porch as if to ask if they can come in LOL

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!

catlady4444 - the tray is just a personal choice because I didn't have great luck with a basket. Too many natural bugs in GA for a lot of woodpeckers to eat suet! The tray gave more birds the option of eating, those that normally would not eat seed. Yesterday two catbirds came repeatedly to eat the suet - first time I've seen them here. They wouldn't go to my seed feeders and can't use a basket. I have wood thrush and pine warbler regulars as well. But I have no starlings either so it's no problem. I've been using the crisco for over a decade, no problems. I've tried a zillion dehydrated fruits, etc. I'm just strange that way. I have more bird food in my freezer than human food. :)

The reason I believe it may be a Vit. a deficiency is that the BB foot looks like a possible ~bumblefoot~. Of course Vit. A deficiency is not the only cause of such a condition, that is to say, a corn / hyperkeratosis / swelling of the bottom of a foot but it certainly is near the top of the causes that may predispose birds to the condition and a secondary debilitating bacterial condition. They may also get a secondary yeast infection of the foot. If a Vit. A deficiency is recognized fairly early, supplementation will result in resolution of the deficiency starting within a week. In reality this does not occur so rapidly as the secondary infections also need to be addressed and treated. The primary sources for Vit. A are plant materials in deep green and orange veggies as well as egg yolk. Suet is high in protein, fat and the B vitamins. I do not know the specifics of the product mentioned in the article linked. A Vit. A deficiency, or any nutritional deficiency, may occur in any species. A varied diet is the best diet to decrease the occurence of a nutritional deficiency. Just as an aside ... for those who use suet ... If you take some suet product and grind it into the tree bark of the trunk and various branches ... you will increase the WP, Nuthatch, Creeper and other visitors! They **REALLY** like eating the suet this way and more are able to feed at a time if the food is spread around some. I am NOT an avian specialist but just offer this observation as my ~best guess~ for the condition in question. It may or may not be the true problem.