Apparently the intersection of espionage and naturalists goes beyond the fictional 007 being named for the author of Birds of the West Indies, James Bond.  A fascinating blog post on spying naturalists and spies posing as naturalists is up on The New York Times’ Opinionator.

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.