Shooting Journal of George Henry MacKay (1929)

George Henry Mackay, ornithologist-sportsman-conservationist, was born October 20, 1843, in Boston, Massachusetts. Mackay’s journals are of great importance in documenting the occurrence, abundance, and tragically the decline of water birds during the later half of the 19th century. Bird behavior, weather, tides, winds, and hunting success were not overlooked. Because of his early interest in birds, during his fourteen voyages and while in India he observed, recorded, and collected birds, including some for the U.S. National Museum, Washington, D.C. Mackay’s accumulating wealth allowed him to further the conservation movement. Mackay’s interest in bird study heightened about 1890 when he became active in the Nuttall Ornithological Society and later the American Ornithological Union. He also commenced writing notes and articles about waterfowl and shorebirds of Massachusetts coast. These totaled some 75 contributions, mostly for The Auk, the prestigious AOU journal. Privately printed for John C. Phillips.–Henry M. Reeves.