Could the insect apocalypse be fueling the decline in some migrating birds?

​PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh native Scott Robinson, a nationally prominent bird research scientist, is trying to find out if an "insect apocalypse is impacting migrating birds.

The staggering loss of 3 billion birds in half a century was first reported in a 2019 landmark study published in Science.

"In less than a single lifetime, North America has lost more than 1 in 4 of its birds," according to the National Audubon Society.

Robinson and other researchers have been trying to learn why the bottom is falling out on some bird species and what can be done.

"These are not all endangered species but birds that used to be common," said Robinson, 70, of Gainesville, Fla., the Katharine Ordway professor of ecosystem conservation at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

"We are just beginning the studies on what we need to do," Robinson said when he spoke about his recent research and all things birds during a Three Rivers Birding Club presentation on April 8, at Beechwood Farms in Fox Chapel.

Bird numbers have plummeted in a range of species. Causes include habitat loss, development, farming practices, climate change and what is known as the "insect apocalypse."

Recent preliminary research by Robinson shows that some bird species, specifically insect-eating birds that pass through or nest here in the warmer months, seem to be working harder to find enough insects to eat when they fuel up for fall migration.

Before he was an eminent ornithologist, capturing awards and setting birding records, Robinson grew up bird-watching in the 1960s and '70s in Fox Chapel along Trillium Trail and favorite haunts like Moraine, Presque Isle and Pymatuning state parks.

His love of nature and birds was inspired by his father, the late Dr. William Robinson, a passionate birder and a former president of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.

The younger Robinson grew up reading Henry David Thoreau and Rachel Carson. He benefited from the tutelage of local legends like retired newspaper and bird editor Paul Hess, of Natrona Heights, and the late Joe Grom, a North Park naturalist.

"Trillium Trail and other places in Fox Chapel solidified my interest in birding. The warbler migration in Pittsburgh is as good as anywhere, at least inland.

"My time in Pittsburgh shaped me into a competent birder," Robinson said.

His father inspired him in many ways, such as learning about science-based conservation and data-driven research into solutions to protect wildlife and the environment.

"My father was a technophile. He was more sophisticated with computers than I was," he said.

Robinson earned a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and a doctorate from Princeton University.

He has conducted avian research around the world and worked at the Illinois Natural History Survey and the University of Illinois before his tenure as the Ordway Lab director at the Florida Museum of Natural History of the University of Florida.

Along with a team of ornithologists, Robinson set a new Big Day record in 2018 for the most bird species observed at a site in a single day, with 374 at the Cocha Cashu biological station in the rainforest of southern Peru.

"I consider myself one of the luckiest people to get paid to study birds and go all over the world," he said.

Robinson is not just nostalgic about his early birding days. He credits amateur birdwatchers with providing valuable information for scientists - maybe even more so today with online crowdsourced platforms like eBird and iNaturalist.

The online platforms amass nature sightings by amateur birders and naturalists around the world.

"I've spent my life as a scientist, deeply respecting bird-watching," he said.

While visiting family earlier this month, Robinson heard fish crows and came across a common raven at the Pittsburgh International Airport - two bird species he had never seen in Allegheny County.

There were other bird species in Robinson's childhood that were scarce but are now plentiful, including the red-bellied woodpecker, a popular visitor to bird feeders.

Then, there are some birds, such as the common nighthawk, that aren't so common anymore.

"I used to watch them on the light poles at Forbes Field during Pirate games," Robinson said.

A dynamic flyer with boomerang-shaped wings that snatches insects in flight, the common nighthawk hunts around bright lights.

These aerial wonders are in steep decline, according to Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Threats include reductions in mosquito and other aerial insect populations due to pesticide use, habitat loss and other factors.

"Most of us believe implicitly that there is a massive decline in insects," Robinson said.

"There's still an immense amount of research needed to understand the magnitude of the problem."

Described by some as the insect apocalypse, the Xerces Society and other groups have sounded the alarm about a dramatic, unprecedented drop in insect populations, citing insecticides, climate change, pollution and other factors.

More studies are needed to fully document the dwindling insect population, which not only impacts birds but also other wildlife and crop pollination.

Some of Robinson's current research examines insect availability to migrating birds. Some bird species require insects to fuel their long flights.

For example, some insect-eating birds like the showy American redstart - males are black with orange and yellow accents - are working harder to catch their insects, Robinson said.

The redstart and some other birds will fan their spotted tails to startle and flush hidden insects for capture. That feeding technique is energetically expensive for the birds, Robinson noted.

During migration, birds need super-abundant resources to fatten up, he said. "My working hypothesis is that there are not enough insects to catch unless birds use maximal effort."

Some bird species with the steepest population declines depend on insects while others that consume fruits and meat less so, he said.

To understand the problem on a more granular level, eBird and iNaturalist might help identify, say, the specific insects birds eat. Citizen scientists report wildlife they see and often take and upload photos. Applying artificial intelligence to the crowdsourced data could provide insight on exactly what the birds are eating during migration.

"We are on the cusp of getting some amazing amount of data that is being uploaded constantly by the public," Robinson said.

Beyond research, he suggests that home gardeners add native plants and trees to attract insects for their avian visitors.

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This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 5:36 AM.