realize the importance of preserving them as a sacred trust 
for future generations. 
One of the first active workers in the protection of breed¬ 
ing terns at Muskeget,;—the greatest breeding center of 
terns on the Massachusetts coast,—was Mr. George H. Mac- 
kay. He reported that, whereas he had found 1280 eggs 
there in 1895, in 1897 not over 100 were to be found. The 
colony would soon be extinct. The work of protection was 
vigorously taken up by the Committee on Protection of the 
American Ornithologists Union, greatly aided by the fund 
raised through the efforts of Mr. Abbott H. Thayer. In 
1901 Mr. Mackay obtained a State law protecting terns at 
all times. The great work of Mr. Dutcher and the National 
Audubon Society, which was incorporated in 1905, in pro¬ 
tecting birds and influencing public opinion on the sub¬ 
ject, need merely be referred to here. 
As a result of this protection it soon became evident that 
terns were increasing. The colonies at Muskeget and on 
the Maine coast were again becoming populous. Whereas 
in 1905 terns very rarely visited Ipswich beach before the 
first of August, and then were not found in greater num¬ 
bers than two or three hundred, they have increased so that 
several thousand may now be seen there during this month, 
and they are present from their arrival about the middle 
of May. Common Terns are abundant, Arctic Terns are not 
uncommon, and the Roseate Terns, from being practically 
unknown at Ipswich in 1900, are now at times abundant. 
Least Terns, although rare, are increasing in numbers. At 
Muskeget, terns nest again by the thousands, and the colo¬ 
nies on the Maine coast are populous. 
By the middle of May in 1921, terns became common at 
Ipswich Beach and the Common, Arctic and Roseate spe¬ 
cies were all to be seen. On June 12th I sat on the sand 
within sixty yards of a flock of over a hundred Common 
Terns that had alighted at the water’s edge. It was at 
once apparent that the birds were preparing to breed, as 
many of them were engaged in active courtship. As the 
sexes are alike in plumage, one could distinguish the males 
36 
