Having completed a BSc. in Zoology at the University of Glasgow in 2006, Katrina Sharps then worked for the RSPB in various roles, including as a research assistant on the Scottish Crossbill Loxia scotica survey in 2008. In 2013, she graduated with a PhD from the University of East Anglia focusing on the ‘Conservation ecology of the European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus’, which included radio-tracking, dietary studies and the use of nest cameras. She is now a Research Associate specialising in data analysis and statistics at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Bangor, North Wales.