Pileated Woodpecker

are these dead branches or is he killing them

Yes these are dead trees, probably killed by the insects he's feasting on! I have a pic of his work on a living tree, Bjs. He is a very big bird. This pic was taken with a 48x magnification... I was about 100 ft. away. They're a shy bird most of the time but when they find an ant or beetle nest they shred the tree! If the tree is very rotten they take it right to the ground. They are nature's clean-up crew.