spotting vs spying

spotting and spying both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
spotting	Yes	No	No	No
spying	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, spotting and spying are synonyms defined as:

spotting and spying: the act of detecting something; catching sight of something

Other synonyms of spotting include catching, detection, espial.

spotting (noun)	spying (noun)
the act of detecting something; catching sight of something	the act of keeping a secret watch for intelligence purposes
the act of spotting or staining something	keeping a secret or furtive watch
	the act of detecting something; catching sight of something