Dr Allan Perkins

My work with the RSPB, and previously with Oxford University, has mostly involved studying the ecology of farmland birds, developing management solutions to halt and reverse population declines, and monitoring the effectiveness of agri-environment schemes.

In 2002 I moved to Aberdeen, where my farmland bird research has focused on the conservation of corn bunting populations in eastern Scotland. In 2012 I completed my PhD with Edinburgh University on this subject.

In recent years my research has diversified to include waders and seabirds, solving problems such as determining the cause of decline of the UK's breeding whimbrels and Arctic skuas, and developing new methods for monitoring nocturnal burrow-nesting seabirds, and assessing localised breeding abundance, distribution and predation of European storm-petrels. Current projects include the 2015-20 national seabird census (Seabirds Count), providing science support for the Orkney Native Wildlife Project, and for corncrake and wader conservation in Scotland.

Other research has included monitoring Slavonian grebes to identify the main cause of nest loss and a review of analytical methods widely used to assess the impact of offshore wind farms on seabird populations.