Tom Nilles has always been interested in animals and started his bachelor studies in biology with a focus on zoology at the University of Vienna. For his bachelor thesis, he was at the La Gamba Research Station in Costa Rica, where he studied the effects of small-scale topographic heterogeneity on the bird communities of the understory of a tropical lowland rainforest. Back from Costa Rica, he became aware of the bird ringing station “Schlammwiss” in his home country Luxembourg, where he was able to expand his knowledge and experience in working with birds. He completed his master’s thesis at the Kestrel Project in Vienna, where he determined the carotenoid content of nestlings to investigate the influence of urban stress. Since June 2022 he has been a member of the TB Raab.