Juliet Anne Vickery is a British

ecologist Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...

and CEO at the

British Trust for Ornithology The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in the British Isles. The William, Prince of Wales, Prince of Wales has been patron since October 2020. History Beginning In 1931 Max Nicholson ...

. Her research focusses on understanding the drivers of declines in farmland and migrant

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s. She was president of the

British Ornithologists' Union The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) aims to encourage the study of birds (ornithology) around the world in order to understand their biology and aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henry Baker ...

between 2019 and 2023.

Education and career

Vickery undertook her undergraduate degree and D.Phil at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, graduating in 1989. After a D.Phil. on the impacts of

acid rain Acid rain is rain or any other form of Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists b ...

white-throated dipper The white-throated dipper (''Cinclus cinclus''), also known as the European dipper or just dipper, is an aquatic passerine bird found in Europe, Middle East, Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. The species is divided into several subspecies ...

s, she undertook postdoctoral research at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

working with Prof William Sutherland on

brent geese The brant or brent goose (''Branta bernicla'') is a small goose of the genus ''Branta''. There are three subspecies, all of which winter along temperate-zone sea-coasts and breed on the high-Arctic tundra. The Brent oilfield was named after ...

. After a brief spell working for

Scottish Natural Heritage NatureScot () is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for Scotland’s natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and scenic diversity. It advises the Scottish Government on nature conservati ...

, Vickery moved to the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

to take up a lecturer position where she found securing funding for applied research difficult. The challenge of undertaking applied conservation research in an academic setting led to Vickery's move from

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

to become the head of the terrestrial ecology unit at the

. After 10 years with the BTO, Vickery moved to the

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

as Head of International Conservation Science. Her work at RSPB involved leading scientific teams focused on the conservation of globally threatened species and habitats, particularly in West Africa and the UK's Overseas Territories. Her research on declines in migrant birds has had widespread policy impact. Following 11 years at the RSPB she returned to the

in 2020 as Chief Executive Officer. Alongside her full time work, Vickery has held a number of additional roles. With the

she was Chair of the Equality and Diversity Committee, Vice-President and then elected President (2019-2023). She served on the

Darwin Initiative The Darwin Initiative is a UK Government funding program that aims to assist countries with rich biodiversity but poor financial resources to meet their objectives under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention on International T ...

Expert Committee for six years and chaired the Policy Committee of the

British Ecological Society The British Ecological Society is a learned society in the field of ecology that was founded in 1913. It is the oldest ecological society in the world. The Society's original objective was "to promote and foster the study of Ecology in its widest ...

for nine years. Vickery is an Honourary Research Fellow at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and an honorary professor at the

Research

Vickery's research has centered on diagnosing causes of species decline and developing practical solutions to reverse these trends. She has a strong interest in the impact of land-use change on bird populations, particularly in agricultural landscapes, where increased intensification of farming has led to widespread declines. Her work has uncovered the complexity of the drivers of farmland birds, and has established that increasing heterogeneity across the landscape is most likely to reverse these declines. Her work also addresses the decline of Afro-Palearctic migrant birds and explores the connections between human livelihoods and conservation in tropical forest regions. She established the scope of the declines and recent papers have helped identify that land use change in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

may be the key drivers.

Honours and awards

Vickery was awarded the Marsh Award for Ornithology in 2018 by the

Marsh Christian Trust Marsh Charitable Trust, also known as Marsh Christian Trust, is a national charity in the United Kingdom, based in London. It is a registered charity under English law, and was established in 1981 by Brian Marsh, the current Chairman. Marsh was ap ...

and the

, recognising her contributions to the field. She was awarded the

Ibis Award in 2006 for her work on farmland birds, and won the

Award in 2020 for her contributions to the Society.

Personal life

Outside of her professional commitments, Vickery engages in swimming, cycling, running, and birdwatching in the fenlands of Cambridgeshire. As an amateur

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...

she represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in her age class on 11 occasions, winning two international events as a veteran.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British ornithologists {{Improve categories, date=March 2025 Alumni of the University of Oxford Alumni of the University of East Anglia People from Plymouth, Devon