At a Glance

Hours:

Summer (Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend): Monday-Friday: 9 am-6 pm, Saturday-Sunday: 9 am-8 pm.
Fall, winter, spring (after Labor Day until Memorial Day weekend): Friday & Monday: 9 am-4 pm; Saturday & Sunday: 9 am-6 pm; closed on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday.
Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, & New Year Day.
NOTE: on all days, entrance gate closes one hour prior to posted closing time.
Beach area closes one hour before park closing time.
No walk-ins allowed when entrance gates are closed.

Cost:

January through March: $5/vehicle in-county resident or non-resident on weekends. Entrance fee not collected on Monday & Friday.
April through October: $5/vehicle for in-county residents, $15/vehicle for non-residents.
November through December: $5/vehicle in-county resident or non-resident on weekends. Entrance fee not collected on Monday & Friday.
Any Day – Bike/Walk-in: $2 per person
Annual passes available: $30 per year for county residents; $50 per year for non-residents. Annual rates are for one car; a second car can be added for an additional $10 for cars registered to the same person.

Tips: The park fills to capacity during the summer; when filled, gates will be closed and not even walk-ins are allowed. ◾ Bring a scope. ◾ The park doesn’t open until 9 am; bird the power line cut until then. ◾ Some of the trails may be wet and muddy; wear waterproof hiking boots. ◾ Public deer hunting is permitted during archery season for deer. Be aware of hunting seasons and plan your visit accordingly. ◾ Restrooms are at the Visitor Center.

Best Seasons: Spring and fall migration; winter. Very busy with beachgoers in summer and the park will not allow further entries when it fills to capacity.

Breeding Bird Atlas Block: Cove Point CW

Local MOS Chapters: Anne Arundel Bird Club and Patuxent Bird Club

Flag Ponds Nature Park

1525 Flag Ponds Parkway, St Leonard’s, MD 20657
(410) 586-1477

Flag Ponds Nature Park has over 500 acres with frontage of nearly a mile on the Chesapeake Bay. The park is owned by Calvert County and managed by the Calvert Nature Society.

Most of the terrain is low-lying. Most remarkable are two sizable ponds (Richardson’s Pond and Duncan’s Pond) fed by over-wash from the Bay, and several smaller ponds. A marsh, traversed in part by a boardwalk, lies along Richardson’s Pond. The South Ridge and North Ridge Trails go through terrain with a more upland character.

Be sure to visit the observation platform and the blind on Duncan’s Pond. Continuing on the Duncan’s Pond Trail leads to a boardwalk crossing the marsh – often underwater, so boots with good gripping soles are recommended. One can then return to the parking area via the North Ridge Trail. Passerine birding can be good on this trail, coming either from the Beach Path or from the end of parking lots 2 or 3 (see trail map at the link in the orange box in the “At a Glance” section of this webpage). Kentucky and Hooded Warblers can be found in this portion of the park, and migrants may be all along the trail. The North Loop and South Ridge Trails may be less productive.

Depending on season, the public beach at the end of the Beach Path and the sand bar just off-shore may have gulls, terns, and shorebirds, including Sanderling. Since the beach is highly popular, arrive early in warm weather and preferably on a weekday.

Just outside the park boundaries, a power line cut makes a wide swath of brushy habitat that is roughly parallel to the Bay shore. When driving to the park, you will cross the power line cut shortly after turning from MD Route 2/4 onto Flag Ponds Parkway, and before entering the park grounds. It’s worth pulling over here to bird along the power line cut, particularly since the park itself does not open until 9 am. Birding at the power line cut is a good way to round out your day list with some birds that prefer scrub-shrub habitat, such as Yellow-breasted Chat, Prairie Warbler, and Blue Grosbeak.

Birdlife:

Over 245 species have been reported at the eBird hotspot for Flag Ponds. There is a separate eBird hotspot for the Flag Ponds Parkway powerline cut, with over 120 species reported.

Breeding species at the park include Green Heron; Yellow-throated, Hooded, Kentucky, and Worm-eating Warblers; and all the local swallows.

In winter, a good variety of dabbling ducks is sometimes found on the ponds, and diving ducks may be present in the offshore waters. There are also wintering kinglets and Winter Wrens.

In spring, there may be other wetland species such as herons and Belted Kingfishers. Migrant passerines include sparrows, thrushes, flycatchers and warblers.

Where the Flag Ponds Parkway passes under the power line, Prairie Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chats, and Summer Tanagers may be heard by day; at night, there may be Great Horned Owls and very occasionally, migrant nightjars.

Wheelchair Access:

The Fisherman’s Trail, a loop to Todd’s Pond, is wheelchair-accessible, and there are accessible restrooms. However, other trails are not wheelchair-accessible. There is generally good birding from the car along the entrance road and at the pull-over by the power line cut, particularly in early morning.

Pet Policy:

Pets must be on a leash at all times; pick up after your pet and take the bagged waste with you when you leave.

Special Designations:

Flag Ponds Nature Park is a part of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network of the National Park Service.

Special Features:

Park activities include swimming (no lifeguards), fossil hunting, fishing (there is a pier), visitor center with wildlife exhibits, picnic tables with grills.
The park’s Nature Center offers a variety of educational and nature programs; see the upcoming events on the park’s website.

Local MOS Chapter:

There is no chapter of the Maryland Ornithological Society in Calvert County, but many birders participate in MOS through the Anne Arundel Bird Club or the Patuxent Bird Club; both of these MOS chapters offer field trips and meetings with informative programs, all free and open to the public. In addition, the Southern MD Audubon Society serves birders in Charles, Calvert, St. Mary’s, and Prince George’s Counties.

Parking:

Several designated lots – see trail map at link at left.

Directions:

From MD Route 2/4 south of Prince Frederick, turn east onto onto Flag Ponds Parkway and then immediately right at the T-intersection to stay on Flag Ponds Parkway (see Google map at left). Flag Ponds Parkway will bring you directly into the park. You may want to stop and bird at the obvious power line cut, particularly f arrivign before the park opens at 9 am.

Nearby Sites:

Calvert County: American Chestnut Land Trust – Parkers Creek Preserve ◾ Battle Creek Cypress Swamp Sanctuary / Gatewood Preserve / Biscoe Gray Heritage Farm ◾ Calvert Cliffs State Park ◾ Chesapeake Beach ◾ Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum ◾ Kings Landing Park & Huntingtown Natural Resources Management Area ◾ North Beach ◾ Solomons Island ◾ Ward Farm Recreation & Nature Park

Charles County: Indian Creek Natural Resources Management Area ◾ Maxwell Hall Park

Habitats:

Bottomland Deciduous ForestsConifersHedgerows Old Fields, Shrubby MeadowsSandy Beach or Dunes Forested SwampFreshwater Marsh or FloodplainFreshwater Pond, Lake, or ReservoirMud Flats (Tidal or Non-Tidal)Open Ocean, Bay, or EstuaryRivers & StreamsSalt or Brackish Marsh