Martin Elcoate
banner
melcoate.bsky.social
Martin Elcoate
@melcoate.bsky.social
Volunteer for The Green Runners; low carbon running & birding in Devon, mostly in squares.

Running in Squares - my blog for the OS

https://linktr.ee/MartinElcoate?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=0a99957a-af9c-4481-81d1-6ba562fb06ff
Pinned
Running in squares - I mostly keep my exploration local, whether running, walking or birding (many activities involve all three). Low carbon adventures from the front door.

#Running #Birding #LowCarbonAdventures #Local #ASingleMap #OrdnanceSurvey

getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/guides/runni...
Running in Squares (OS Map Squares!)
Martin set himself a challenge to run through the 400 1 km squares in a 1:25.000 OS map centered on his home in Topsham, Devon...
getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk
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
November 26, 2025 at 7:56 PM
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
November 24, 2025 at 7:31 PM
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
November 24, 2025 at 7:20 PM
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
November 23, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by Martin Elcoate
November 22, 2025 at 12:37 PM
This is why we run.

Sunset over the sewage works.

#running
November 22, 2025 at 4:38 PM
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
November 22, 2025 at 11:27 AM
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 🏡.
November 21, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Martin Elcoate
The real BBC bias story, narrated by Anna Ford
November 19, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Reposted by Martin Elcoate
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
November 18, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Reposted by Martin Elcoate
🌍 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...
November 18, 2025 at 11:49 AM
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
November 17, 2025 at 3:09 PM
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
November 16, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Second walk around town of the day and great to find a Great White Egret on Bowling Green Marsh.

More #LowCarbonBirding

#DevonBirds #Birding
November 15, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Red-necked Grebe still on Bowling Green Marsh, Topsham, sticking to the same stretch of water.

#DevonBirds #Birding
November 15, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Hummingbird Hawkmoth flew through my garden this morning, pausing to feed on Ivy. Feels like a late record for this species.

#UKMoths #Moths #DevonMoths
November 15, 2025 at 9:14 AM
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
November 14, 2025 at 4:36 PM
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
November 14, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Reposted by Martin Elcoate
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...
Useful Projects - Sport England - Green Runners - V3 (Subtitles)
This is "Useful Projects - Sport England - Green Runners - V3 (Subtitles)" by Pictures for the People on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the…
vimeo.com
November 13, 2025 at 7:18 PM
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
November 13, 2025 at 3:35 PM
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
November 13, 2025 at 1:40 PM
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
November 12, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Spotted Redshank on Bowling Green Marsh this morning (along with another Spot Red, Ruff and lots of other waders).

#DevonBirds #Birding
November 10, 2025 at 6:57 PM
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.
November 10, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Reposted by Martin Elcoate
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...
November 10, 2025 at 1:21 PM