Pileated woodpeckers are certainly impressive looking birds, but it's never a good thing to see them pecking away on a tree in your yard. They are after insects, and they have the ability to smell or hear insects deep within the tree.
Pileated woodpeckers are relatively common in this area, and over the years we have seen a number of them in our neighborhood. Unfortunately, as Mskelt and Winnisquamer suggested, pileated woodpeckers often inflict significant damage to trees and can leave large holes in the trees they find insects in.
In our yard, several living white birches that were "attacked" by pileated woodpeckers were damaged to such a degree that they had to be taken down. In other spots in our neighborhood a number of white pines are full of large pileated woodpecker holes and have died, but are still standing. In past years, a couple white pines that were badly damaged by pileated woodpeckers were taken down by NHEC for fear they would fall on the power lines along the road.
So, while they are magnificent to see and watch, it's usually not good when they come to your yard for lunch.
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DRH
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