It’s tough for gardeners here in north east Pennsylvania with not a flower to be seen. The ground is still frozen solid to a depth of probably a foot or more so everything is tucked up tight. Instead, we have the birds.

And one of the stars of the winter season is the pileated woodpecker. And he and she are both whoppers – 19in/48cm from stem to stern – with a brilliant scarlet crest. (Britain's largest woodpecker is the green woodpecker at 14.5in/36cm.) They come to the bird feeders occasionally, but we hear them most days; their hammering can be heard over half a mile from the tree at which they’re at work. And with no leaves to obscure the view, their size catches the attention as they move from trunk to trunk.

To the joy of all American householders the favourite food of the pileated woodpecker is the carpenter ant. (For British readers: this is a perilous creature which can eat its way through the wood of which most American houses are constructed.) The woodpeckers tear at logs on the ground to get at the ants inside and also excavate characteristically rectangular holes in trees. One nearby tree has received particular special attention.

So the pileated woodpecker is one of our winter stars that we can see from the house. We won’t see the occasional bald eagle and osprey till the lake thaws but with pine siskins by the dozen, goldfinches, two or three other smaller woodpeckers, the occasional red-tailed hawk, chickadees and the rest… Well, they’re great winter entertainment.

Coming soon: (probably) the only genuine squirrel-proof bird feeder – in the world!