One reason there may be fewer female hotshot birders is that
females are not defined as hotshot birders even when they know
birds better than their male peers do. At a rare bird outing
some time ago, I was pretty surprised to be in the presence of
two "hotshots" who had a great deal of difficulty distinguishing
Purple Finch from House Finch. I had done the deed and told them
why they were what they were and was ready to move on, but they
had to chase the birds down hill to be sure. Records Committee
members, indeed.

Yes, this is a little cynical, but I have found over and over again
that I know more about a given topic than a male/group of males,
but they won't accept the possibility that I know more than they
do about the topic, particularly when it is one in which males
are the dominant recognized experts. Not everyone is like this;
some are quite nice and quite collegial, but they need to
convince the majority to open their eyes to the fact that the
other half of the world can develop a high level of expertise in
their chosen endeavors, too.


--
Barbara Combs obie '70
Eugene, OR
bcombs at ednet1.osl.or.gov