Amateur Naturalist

Lately I've been wondering if I can justifiably use the term naturalist, even an amateur one. I searched online for books relating to this subject and it seems that they term is in wider use in the US. English books on the subject of naturalists tends to related to those of the past, with books on David Douglas, the great plant collector, and a book about 'The Great Naturalists:From Aristotle to Darwin', but did the species of the naturalist die out with Darwin?

There is a book by Nick Baker about being an amateur naturalist, so I decided to look at the contents. It covers equipment, mammals, birds, amphibians, plants and such like. All things that I am interested in - so it's looking up for me already.

I also wondered if there's any sort of organisation for naturalists in the UK and how they classify the term naturalist. I found the British Naturalist's Association, with none other than David Bellamy as the Honorary President, who invites us to 'explore the natural world of the British countryside' and to 'develop an in-depth understanding of our flora and fauna with the guidance of experts'. I like to explore and I'm reminded of the snail collecting that I used to partake in as a boy, lining them all up on a wall. I'm also reminded of William Brown, who goes through a phase of being a naturalist and of always being a boy who explored 'A wasp settled near him, and very neatly the young naturalist picked him up.'  ‘R. Crompton’ More William (1924). I'm spending a lot of time going through old photographs at the moment and I'm fortunate in receiving much advice on identification from friends at Wild About Britain, who are very quick to provide assistance and information about the life I've tried to catch on camera.

The term 'naturalist' is first documented in 1600 with relation to an expert or student of natural history, where a comment is made of a naturalist writing about a lion. The OED has a plethora of early examples the use of naturalist being associated with the term 'observe'. That's what I like to do. I like to observe life. Our interconnected world makes this more easily possible than ever below with many webcams, such as the Owl webcam previously posted. This ease adds to our knowledge, but  ideally solidified with exploring the natural world as well, as this is when you have the heart stopping moments of seeing your first *insert favorite wildlife memory* close up in the woods.

From observing birds on the roof tops, to exploring the life in your back garden, to going on an African safari. I think that we're all naturalists to some degree, even if sometimes we just lose our way. I know I'm definitely a student of the natural world, even if I don't always make the time for the natural world that I should.