spying vs spotting

spying and spotting both are nouns.

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

As nouns, spying and spotting are synonyms defined as:

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

Other synonyms of spying include catching, detection, espial.

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