On a beautiful Saturday afternoon in early March, the Young Macnamaras were led by the club's youth programmer Alicia Salyi to a local farm for the largest YM outing ever. They were greeted by Macnamara Field Naturalists' Club wildlife expert Fergus Nicoll, who had set up a bird-banding demonstration. Each child got a checklist to keep track of the birds banded, and seen, as they practised their naturalist skills.

 YMs saw how birds are safely caught in mist nets – large panels of light, intertwined fibres that flying birds cannot easily see. As feeders and other attractions around the nets drew birds in to be netted, we quickly learned the bander's credo: Birds come first – before science, before fun. Some birds were caught in metal ground cages that attract birds inside to piles of food, where they are safe until the bander retrieves them.

After a shiny aluminum band is put the bird's leg, Fergus demonstrated how banders look for and record its age and sex, wing measurements, and fat content. On this day, we were collected data on Black-Capped Chickadees and some male Dark-Eyed Juncos. Other sightings included a Hairy Woodpecker, a Red-Tailed Hawk and a juvenile Bald Eagle. Our day ended with a short walk to find other birds after attracting them by "pishing." The Young Macnamaras learned great bird identification skills and had a big thank you for Fergus.

In early November as the sun was breaking through the clouds, the Young Macnamaras met at the Macnamara Trail kiosk in anticipation of what the morning would bring. Of the six warmly dressed participants, only one keen young naturalist was in attendance, with several would-be participants on the sick list. Fergus and Gordon, two club experts, were on hand to impart their impressive knowledge of plant and animal life on the trail, and Alicia provided the background on what really happens during the fall season.

Fall is a great time of year to discuss how nature prepares for winter, and our Young Macnamara already knew a lot about it. We discussed how all animals are looking for food and a safe shelter for the long winter months, and how some hibernate. We considered Eastern Chipmunks, American Toad and Green Frogs, as well as the Wood Frog which is able to go into a frozen state until spring. And we talked about migrating birds as well as the ones that stay in our area during winter.

"Bug me if you can," it was called, the kind of kids' activity in the newly created Young Macnamara group. On August 15 we set out on an insect investigation in local fields. Kids first learned about the parts of typical insects and what makes these tiny creatures important to our natural world and then took their new knowledge for a close look at insects and other creatures in their habitats. Highlights included a black-and-yellow Argiope spider, several white-faced dragonflies, and a Milbert's Tortoiseshell butterfly.