Tafoni Trail and a Chipmunk – Bay Area Trail

2025年7月20日 Nature observation, Birds

I went into the forest. The western side of the San Francisco Bay Area peninsula is covered in lush green forest thanks to the constant moisture from the ocean. It’s a stark contrast to the dry bay side. There are mainly two approaches to the trails: descending from Route 35 along the ridge, or ascending normally from the Half Moon Bay side. The descending route is more convenient if you’re coming from the bay side. However, since you descend first and then have to climb back up, it can be tiring if you go too far.

This time, I walked the Tafoni Trail from the ridge route. It’s not far from the giant Methuselah Tree I introduced before. Apparently, there’s a sandstone formation called Tafoni Sandstone here, but it’s not really worth visiting from afar.

I walked for a while. The trail is relatively gentle and easy to walk. Unfortunately, there were very few signs of birds. No birds, but a chipmunk appeared.

Allen’s Chipmunk perched on a moss-covered thick tree branch in autumn along the Tafoni Trail — A chipmunk ran swiftly through the trees above. I’ve basically given up on identifying chipmunk species. When I asked ChatGPT which species is commonly seen in this area, it suggested Allen’s Chipmunk.

Steller’s Jay perched on a dead tree in the forest in autumn along the Tafoni Trail — There weren’t many, but here are a few birds I saw. Steller’s Jay. I didn’t get a very good photo this time.

Brown Creeper clinging to the side of a tree trunk in a forest in autumn along the Tafoni Trail — Brown Creeper.

By the way, the Tafoni Sandstone at the end of the trail was completely fenced off, presumably to prevent damage from tourists and vandalism. You could hardly even see the rock, which was quite a letdown.