I hiked around several parks and woods in the middle part of the Olentangy River drainage (Delaware-to-Worthington) and found some good birds.  Unfortunately, I also 'found' some surprisingly heavy Gypsy Moth infestations, including one in Highbanks MetroPark.  Right now they are very localized, but who knows how much they might spread over the course of the Summer.  Sites I visited included Seymour State Nature Preserve, Chapman Rd,  Taggart Rd, Liberty Township Park Woods, and Highbanks MetroPark.  Bird notables included:

Wild Turkey - a hen with chicks was roaming near Winter Road, providing some evidence of breeding in this part of the Olentangy.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo - not a one, which is even more surprising given the Gypsy moth infestations that I found.

Flycatchers - Acadian flycatchers were common to the point of abundant in almost any forest area.  I had 20+ along the Dripping Rock Trail in Highbanks, though they were missing from the portion that had the gypsy moth infestation.

Wood Warblers - singing Parulas were at several areas along the river (Chapman, Taggart, Highbanks).  A Hooded was singing at a long-time breeding site in Seymour Woods, while a singing Ovenbird along the DRT in Highbanks was more unexpected.  2 singing Yellow-br.Chats in fields along the DRT was also a treat.  Lousisiana waterthrush adults were escorting juveniles in the ravines at both Seymour Woods and Highbanks.

Tanagers - singing Scarlets were at both Seymour Woods and Highbanks, but I couldn't find any Summer tanagers at Highbanks.  Perhaps they were too stuffed with gypsy caterpillars to do much singing.

Orioles - Baltimores were fairly common along the river, with nests at several sites.  A singing Orchard along Taggart Rd. was a little less expected.

The strongest gypsy caterpillar infestations were at Liberty Township Park woods and the southeast portion of the Dripping Rock Trail in Highbanks MetroPark.  At both sites, most of the canopy trees were 80-100% defoliated, giving a surreal Spring-like appearance to patches of forest right next to dense fully-leafed forest.  In both spots you could hear the rain of frass from the caterpillars, and both had quite a few birds coming in after the caterpillars, including Robins, Bluebirds, Orioles, nuthatches, and woodpeckers. Hopefully the relatively modest areas of these infestations will allow natural predators and diseases to rein in the moths, but we'll have to see.  Neither park really has the budget for a massive spraying campaign, so it looks like nature will have to take its course here.

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