People tend to dislike labeling and labels and yet the do seem to have some
meaning and people do use them.
When watching The Big Year I was struck by the scene where Steve Martin's
character says
dismissively to someone "I'm not a bird watcher, I'm a birder" or something
to that effect.  Maybe
he mentioned something about people who watch birds in their back yard, I
don't remember exactly.

I have noticed on some bulletin boards and on various bird lists, that if I
post  with pretty specific questions that
don't relate to species, and quite clearly state somewhere within the post
that I'm not a lister and don't have
particular target birds, inevitably I get replies as if I am a lister 'this
area is good for x, that area good for y:
and the requests for other specific info go unaswered. Its as if the fact
that someone who is asking the questions a
serious enthusiast would ask couldn't possibly not be a lister as well.

So after seeing the movie I started to wonder, am I a birder?  I know I'm
not a particularly serious one but I have considered myself
part of the community for quite awhile.  But perhaps I'm  a bird watcher?

Assuming there is no negative connotation to either definition - what is the
difference?
Listing?  Venturing beyond the backyard?  Membership in Audubon or bird
clubs?
Not a particularly important question and perhaps a bit devisive (not my
intent) but something I've been pondering.

Mary, Fairborn

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