Flagpole Overlook
<span>At the end of the Nature Loop, a flagpole stands next to the parking lot. From the edge of the grassy area, viewers can see Mallows Bay, including the <i>Accomac</i> and the Ghost Fleet. Trail signs here introduce the park and describe the sanctuary's history and cultural significance.</span>
Welcome
<span>Welcome to the Nature Loop!<ul><li>Click or tap on the screen to navigate along the trail, highlighted by the text at the bottom of your screen.</li><li>Click or tap on the orange hotspots to learn more about the highlighted area.</li><li>Use the mini-map in the upper left corner to navigate or skip ahead.</li><li>Use the "View" button at the top of the screen to pan back to the correct orientation and find the next hotspot.</li></ul></span>
Meadow
The start of the Nature Loop passes through a meadow filled with flowers in spring, summer, and fall. The meadow is an important habitat for pollinators, including Maryland's 400+ species of ground-dwelling bees, which nest by digging small holes in the ground. Charles County Parks has planted 19 native plant species here to provide food and habitat for bees, butterflies, and other insects.
Iris
The meadow is a diverse ecosystem home to a wide variety of native plants, but non-native species like the yellow flag iris can also take root and spread quickly. This plant, with its large, colorful blossoms, was introduced in the late 1700s as a decorative plant. It is invasive, pushing out aquatic plants like cattails and native irises such as the dwarf-crested iris and the blue flag iris. It is resistant to deer and other wildlife, allowing it to take over an area quickly.
Telescope Platform
<span>This telescope platform offers one of the best views of Mallows Bay. The telescopes give a close-up view of the <i>Accomac</i> and the Ghost Fleet without going out on the water.</span>
Mixed Forest
<span>This section of the trail passes through a mix of deciduous and evergreen trees. The variety attracts different kinds of birds, including the ruby-crowned kinglet, a small native songbird found in the area during winter.</span>
Snag Trees
This area has dead or dying standing trees called "snag" trees. It is a good place to see woodpeckers such as the downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker, and northern flicker, which drill holes in the snags to search for insects. Those holes later often become nesting sites for other birds, including the Louisiana waterthrush, prothonotary warbler, Carolina chickadee, eastern bluebird, and white-breasted nuthatch.
Ghost Ship
At low tide, one of the ghost ships is visible near the shore. The wreck site is overgrown with plants, creating a habitat for a variety of creatures. Marsh tickseed, swamp rose mallow, and common sneezeweed are among the plants growing in this wet environment, attracting butterflies, moths, bees, and other pollinators. Great blue herons, bald eagles, green herons, ospreys, hawks, and red-winged blackbirds are common and nest in the area.
Serviceberry
Serviceberry is also known as shadbush, shadwood, and juneberry. It often grows along the edge of the forest. Its white flowers appear in spring, and a few weeks later red to purple-black berries ripen, providing food for songbirds and mammals.
Maples
While many trees look similar in summer, seasonal differences make some easier to identify. In early spring, red maples stand out with small, hanging clusters of bright red flowers, blooming before most other trees leaf out. Their early bloom makes them an important source of pollen for bees and other pollinators. In fall, their leaves turn a brilliant red.
Native Wildflowers
<p>In spring, the forest floor shows small native wildflowers, including cut-leaf toothwort, pennywort, yellow trout lily, bloodroot, Virginia spring beauty, and showy orchid. These woodland flowers depend on the surrounding trees for nutrients and bloom early, taking in sunlight before the tree canopy leafs out and shades the ground.</p>
Paw Paw
In this wet habitat is a group of pawpaw trees, the largest edible fruit native to the United States. Pawpaw trees are small understory trees, growing in the shade of taller trees. Their fruit is bright yellowish-green and tastes like a mix of mangoes and bananas, attracting raccoons, squirrels, opossums, and other small mammals. Pawpaws are also essential to the zebra swallowtail butterfly, whose larvae primarily eat pawpaw leaves.
Japanese wineberry
Japanese wineberry is an invasive shrub in the same family as raspberries and blackberries. It is common throughout the park and easily identified by its red stems, which form thick patches on the forest floor. It spreads quickly and crowds out native plants, reducing habitat area for wildlife.
Beaver Pond (Overlook)
<span>This is the first overlook of the Beaver Pond, where the remains of an old beaver dam are visible. Beavers expand their territory over time, building new dams and lodges farther upstream; the Beaver Trail passes evidence of an active dam upstream. Wading birds or turtles may be seen basking in the sun.</span>
Tree-Of-Heaven
The fallen trees along the trail are tree-of-heaven, a species originally from China that has spread widely across North America as an invasive plant. It is easy to identify by its large seed pods and reproduces quickly, crowding out native species. It also releases chemicals into the soil that kill nearby native plants. Tree-of-heaven has also helped spread the invasive spotted lanternfly, which lays its eggs on these trees while feeding on and damaging many native trees.
Wild Turkey
Mallows Bay is home to ospreys, eagles, songbirds, and the Eastern wild turkey. Turkeys roost and nest in forests and use grassy fields like this one to find insects to eat. Over the last 50 years, Maryland's wild turkey population has made a comeback, with a thriving population now in Southern Maryland thanks to natural areas like Mallows Bay Park.
Burning Basin (Overlook)
<p>In 1942, Bethlehem Steel drained this area to sink and burn the World War I ships anchored there, creating the Burning Basin, now surrounded by wetlands. It is a popular recreational fishing spot due to its calm, slow waters, and it marks a transition from the Potomac River to the calmer waters of Marlow Creek. Freshwater marsh plants along the water's edge provide important habitat and food sources.</p>
Freshwater Marsh Plants
Four trail signs near the Burning Basin highlight common freshwater marsh plants, including pickerel weed, tuckahoe, cattails, and wild rice. These plants provide habitat and food for many species, absorb nutrients from runoff, and help prevent shoreline erosion. The signs also describe how indigenous peoples have used these plants for thousands of years.
Osprey Nest
This osprey nest at the top of a tree is the best spot to see a nest from land in the park. The area is popular with ospreys, great blue herons, bald eagles, cormorants, and gulls, since it is an easy place to catch fish. Owls are common too, and great horned owls are one of the biggest predators of osprey chicks during nesting season.
Goldenrod
During the fall, the trail is full of goldenrod, a wildflower with small yellow flowers that grow in clusters. Goldenrod supports biodiversity by providing bees and other pollinators with nectar and pollen in late summer and early fall. The trail is also a popular nesting spot for birds, which build nests in the trees near the water.
iNaturalist Observations
