The Pileated woodpecker is without a doubt my favourite bird to photograph. I am fortunate that there are multiple pairs in my area in Ottawa Canada, The birds seem to have little fear of humans so when they are searching for food, making holes in trees you can often times get very close. I use two main Lenses when shooting birds a Nikkor 70-300VR aas well as a Sigma 150-500 OS and are taken using either a Nikon D80 or D90. No tripods have been used for these images all are hand held. Rick Sellick