A very mild walk around Topsham this morning. With news that the Lesser Crested Tern was in the vicinity of Turf, I spent some time scoping the estuary & buoys. Eventually I had v distant flight views before it landed on a yellow buoy. I could just about make out a grey rump & orange bill.

Run around Haldon with Bert 🐕 this afternoon. Firecrest & Siskins. #TrailRunning

Waiting for a take-away means there’s time to explore new roads and alleys in my #ASingleMap.

The Lesser Crested Tern on the Exe Estuary gave me the run around today. I eventually had good views from Cockwood. Cattle Egret at Powderham & Barn Owl on Exminster Marshes added extra interest.

Breakfast - This morning a female Sparrowhawk shot out from the trees to my left and caught a Redshank on the estuary edge. A successful kill. I’ve not witnessed one take a Redshank before. #DevonBirds

Advent #3 "As an activist, I realised, I must do more than just ring the fire alarm: I must also detail the way out of the building, and show people how to find it."

Footpath Closed Ahead. Surely one of the most pointless signs I’ve come across. Slight change in route required towards the end of my run. 28k of muddy, wet fun in East Devon. #TrailRunning

One of those runs where it wasn’t raining enough for a waterproof layer at the start but I was already soaked through by the time the heavens opened. Just water 💦 🤷🏻 Must have looked worse for wear when I went into the cafe. #Soggy #TrailRunning

Advent #1 "You don't have to throw soup on anything. You don't have to glue yourself to things. But if you really do care about all this, please find your own way to act like the truth is real."

A pre lunch walk - a 10k loop from the Ley Arms following old routes up to and down from the Haldon ridge. Firecrests & Cattle Egrets a sign of the times. As were the lack of winter thrushes & finches.

Owl watching from the bedroom window. Speculative scan with the telescope and pleased to see a Short-eared Owl and a Barn Owl over Exminster Marshes. Video demonstrates the stunning views of Barn Owl. #DevonBirding #Owls

Blue sky running - out for a 10k run from home before breakfast.

Dawlish Warren birding Scanned bay from Langstone Rock: 7 Great Northern Divers; 5 Velvet Scoters; c.30 Common Scoter; 11 Great-crested Grebes. Watched passerines feeding in the sun: est. 14 Chiffchaffs and the distinctive call of a Yellow-browed Warbler (but couldn’t see it). #DevonBirding

2/2 Green Friday Rather than get sucked into Black Friday, let’s activate our #HowWeKitUp pillar by prioritising thoughtful purchases, repair, and sharing. Hit pause. Be mindful. Run green. #GreenFriday

Up & down the canal this morning being serenaded by singing Song Thrushes. Today’s 12km needed to be a slow run so I deliberately used nasal breathing to keep the effort easy. If the breathing felt laboured then it was a sign to ease off the pace. Worked a treat. #Running #SlowRunning

At today’s National Emergency Briefing, Chris Packham delivered a clear message: act now. Decision-makers must step up and tackle the climate crisis before it’s too late. Add your signature to the open letter to Keir Starmer. #climatecrisis #neb2025 #netzero www.nebriefing.org/open-letter-keir

Last minute decision to only work half the day. Left the desk, popped on my running shoes and ran 15km down to the sea. Passed this man trying to outrun an Octopus 🐙. Didn’t hang around to witness the outcome. Stranger things. #Running #StrangerThings #SeenOnMyRun

Climate change is driving 40% of UK food price hikes. Protecting households from spiralling costs of living means protecting the planet. It's time to kick the expensive fossil fuel habit and accelerate the shift towards heating & powering Britain with efficient renewables. @nebriefing.bsky.social

A frosty morning run. Glad of the gloves & a reminder of the poor circulation I have in my hands. As I approached the end of my run, a Grey Seal swam parallel to the path, a few meters away. We watched each other pass until the seal decided it was time to slide under the water. #RunningWithSeals

Sometimes I find energy on a run that wasn’t there at the start. Today was a case in point. I felt tired as I pulled on my running shoes. And felt tired for the first few km. But slowly energy returned. I had planned for 10km but pushed on until I hit the half marathon. #running

Drogo - great 10km family walk in a loop along & around the Teign Valley from Castle Drogo. The river was running fast, the noise filling the valley. A female Goosander battled the rapids. A single Marsh Tit was the best of the birds but the views top it all. #Devon @nationaltrust.org.uk

A dark(er) backed large gull caught my attention today at Topsham Rec among the argenteus Herring Gulls. A third or fourth year argentatus Herring Gull. Scarce in these parts. #DevonBirds #Gulls

This is why we run. Sunset over the sewage works. #running

Damp walk around town trying to keep my hands warm. Little of note on the bird front. Relatively few ducks on Bowling Green Marsh & no sign of the Red-necked Grebe. #DevonBirds

An afternoon walk around Exmouth followed by a 14km run home. Beautiful day with clear views all along the coast. A Firecrest called next to the cycle path as I ran by. Time to update my Firecrest map - my 2024/25 records in the 20x20km map centred on home 🏡.

The real BBC bias story, narrated by Anna Ford

Let’s have a look at a crazy Twitter to newspaper pipeline story and debunk as we go! 🔎👍🏼 16th Nov the “Britain is Broken” account shared the following post claiming “Tesco are no longer celebrating Christmas” With a picture of their “Evergreen” Trees 2.2Million views to date🙄 🧵1/26

🌍 We took over Southwark station last week, urging city leaders to lead on climate as the C40 World Mayors’ Summit got underway. We now need to keep up the pressure. ✍️ Write to Mayor Sadiq Khan to stop promoting pollution on London public transport: actionnetwork.org/letters/ba2d...

2 Moors Way recce - I ran an unfamiliar section of the route today in glorious sunshine. I joined the path at Bennett’s Cross & ran down to Chagford, looping back via a route of my own making. 19km, 600m elevation. I made 3 mistakes, which is exactly why I wanted to recce the path. #Running #Devon

Decent day’s #Birding & walking around the Exe Estuary. Exmouth: 2 Black Redstarts, Cirl Bunting, Firecrest, Whimbrel, 21 GC Grebes Local wood: Goshawk shot across a trail through the trees. Really close. Monster of a bird!! 😲 Dawlish Warren: 5 Velvet Scoters, my 1st for 3 years. 👍🏻 #DevonBirds

Second walk around town of the day and great to find a Great White Egret on Bowling Green Marsh. More #LowCarbonBirding #DevonBirds #Birding

Red-necked Grebe still on Bowling Green Marsh, Topsham, sticking to the same stretch of water. #DevonBirds #Birding

Hummingbird Hawkmoth flew through my garden this morning, pausing to feed on Ivy. Feels like a late record for this species. #UKMoths #Moths #DevonMoths

Haldon Hill reps - 3 1/3 times up & down the one mile long hill in the drizzle. Each rep faster than the previous one (not by design). Total elevation 500m. Lots of birds around the feeders near the cafe but really quiet elsewhere along the trail. #Running #Birding #Devon

Red-necked Grebe on Bowling Green Marsh for its third day. Clearly not an early riser. It had a bit of a stretch to show of it’s amazing seaweed like feet. #DevonBirds #Birding

Who are The Green Runners? Thanks to Sports England for featuring our Nottingham local meet up crew in this short film. Our members share their individual pledges aligned to our four pillars and explain what it means to run green. #HowWeSpeakOut #Running #ClimateChange vimeo.com/1111780606/9...

Lunchtime run - out for a 10km run from home. As I ran I looked for birds along Ludwell Valley and saw 3 Green Sandpipers, 2 Grey Wagtails and a Dipper. Love seeing these birds in such an incongruous place. #DevonBirds #Birding #Running

The Red-necked Grebe was still on Bowling Green Marsh this morning. Not great conditions to get an image but better than yesterday (plus I had my scope with me). No problem identifying it today 👍🏻 #DevonBirds #Birding

1/2 I popped into the Bowling Green Marsh this morning for a quick scan thru’ the ducks. I noticed a distant grebe hugging the far reeds. Trouble is, I only had bins. After a lot of squinting, I was fairly sure it was a Red-necked Grebe but couldn’t be 💯%. Damn! #DevonBirds #Birding

Spotted Redshank on Bowling Green Marsh this morning (along with another Spot Red, Ruff and lots of other waders). #DevonBirds #Birding

Thought I’d have a nose around Dawlish Warren for a couple of hours this afternoon. No stripey warblers sadly but plenty of Goldcrests & Chiffs to keep my hopes up. Best of the birds: Dartford Warbler, Barnacle Goose (my 1st this year), 12 Common Scoter & a great Great Northern Diver.

We stand with @badvertising.bsky.social and want to see an end to high carbon polluting advertising. We campaign against #SportsWashing and love this campaign to put an end to high carbon polluting advertising on the TfL sites. #HowWeSpeakOut actionnetwork.org/letters/time...

This autumn, 8 of the UK’s leading climate change experts will brief an invite-only audience of politicians & leaders. Check to see if your MP has responded to the invitation. If they’ve not responded then this website makes it easy to give them a nudge. #HowWeSpeakOut www.nebriefing.org

In 2013, my wife and I travelled 9,000 miles from south-west England to Kyoto in Japan - by train. With three young children in tow. This is the story ... (free on Patreon)

Great to see our badges out in the wild.

Mistle Thrush over the garden today was my first here since 11 January. 2025 has been a v poor year for Mistle Thrushes around Topsham.

Recovery walk around Topsham this morning. Surprised to find a Garganey on Bowling Green Marsh. Also 2 Spotted Redshanks and a Ruff. #DevonBirds #Birding

Salt Settlers Six - a simple game of how many 4.5km laps around the Otter Estuary can you run in 6 hours? 12 laps / 52km for me. Beautiful day for a run, even if it was a bit of a grind towards the end. Thanks to the other runners for their company & Climb South West for a top event. #Running

Hey. 35 years ago I saw the Pixies at Exeter Great Hall. Next year I finally get to see them again, this time in Cornwall at the Eden Project. It’s going to be Gigantic!