The Federation Walk Coastal Reserve is a reserve comprising the eastern part of The Spit on the

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast, also known by its initials, GC, is a coastal city and region in the state of Queensland, Australia, located approximately south-southeast of the centre of the list of Australian capital cities, state capital, Brisbane. It is ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The reserve was opened on 22 June 2003, and is approximately 93 hectares in size. The area supports a subtle mix of habitats including littoral rainforest, native grasslands, and pockets of wetlands. The Federation Walk track goes throughout the reserve.

Flora

*Coastal banksia (''

Banksia integrifolia ''Banksia integrifolia'', commonly known as the coast banksia, is a species of tree that grows along the east coast of Australia. One of the most widely distributed ''Banksia'' species, it occurs between Victoria and Central Queensland in a ...

'') *Old man banksia (''

Banksia serrata ''Banksia serrata'', commonly known as the saw banksia, the old man banksia, the saw-tooth banksia or the red honeysuckle and as wiriyagan by the Cadigal people, is a species of woody shrub or tree of the genus ''Banksia'', in the family P ...

'') *Swamp banksia (''

Banksia robur ''Banksia robur'', commonly known as swamp banksia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae. It grows in sand or peaty sand in coastal areas from Cooktown in north Queensland to the Illawarra region on the New South Wales sout ...

'') *Beach bean ('' Canavalia rosea'') *Weeping bottlebrush ('' Callistemon viminalis'') * Dune cypress * Dune fan flower *Marsh fern (''

Cyclosorus interruptus ''Cyclosorus interruptus'', the Hottentot fern or swamp shield-fern, is a fern in the family Thelypteridaceae. It is native to the tropics and subtropics in many parts of the world. In the New World, it is found from Mexico to Argentina, and in t ...

'') *Weeping fig (''

Ficus benjamina ''Ficus benjamina'', commonly known as weeping fig, benjamin fig or ficus tree and often sold in stores as just ficus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to Asia and Australia. It is the official tree of Bangkok. The ...

'') * Beach morning glory * Variable groundsel *Forest red gum (''

Eucalyptus tereticornis ''Eucalyptus tereticornis'', commonly known as forest red gum, blue gum or red irongum, is a species of tree that is native to eastern Australia and southern New Guinea. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in grou ...

'') *Red flowering gum (''

Corymbia ficifolia ''Corymbia ficifolia'', commonly known as red flowering gum, is a species of small tree that is Endemism, endemic to the South West (Western Australia), south-west of Western Australia. It has rough, fibrous bark on the trunk and branches, eg ...

'') *Cottonwood hibiscus (''

Hibiscus tiliaceus ''Hibiscus tiliaceus'', commonly known as the sea hibiscus or coast cottonwood, is a species of flowering tree in the mallow family, Malvaceae, with a pantropical distribution along coastlines. It has also been introduced to Florida and New Zeal ...

'') *Native beach hibiscus (''

'') *Blush macaranga ('' Macaranga tanarius'') *Spiny-head mat-rush ('' Lomandra longifolia'') *Swamp oak ('' Casuarina glauca'') *Bangalow palm (''

Archontophoenix cunninghamiana ''Archontophoenix cunninghamiana'' – commonly known as Bangalow palm, king palm, Illawarra palm or ''piccabeen palm'' – is a tree in the palm family Arecaceae, which is endemic to the east coast of New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. ...

'') *Cabbage-tree palm (''

Livistona australis ''Livistona australis'', the cabbage-tree palm, is an Australian plant species in the family Arecaceae. It is a tall, slender palm growing up to about 25 m in height and 0.35 m diameter.Boland ''et al.'', pp. 71–72. It is crowned ...

'') *Pigface ('' Carpobrotus glaucescens'') *Knobby-club rush ('' Ficinia nodosa'') *She-oak (''

Casuarina equisetifolia ''Casuarina equisetifolia'', commonly known as coastal she-oak, horsetail she-oak, ironwood, beach sheoak, beach casuarina, whistling tree or Australian pine is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is native to Australia, ...

'') *Tuckeroo ('' Cupaniopsis anacardioides'') *Coastal wattle ('' Acacia sophorae'')

Fauna

* Striped marsh frog * Eastern sedge frog *Green tree frog (''

Litoria caerulea The Australian green tree frog (''Ranoidea caerulea''/''Litoria caerulea''), also known as simply green tree frog in Australia, White's tree frog, or dumpy tree frog, is a species of tree frog native to Australia and New Guinea, with introdu ...

'') *

Carpet python ''Morelia spilota'', commonly known as the carpet python, is a large snake of the family Pythonidae found in Australia, New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea), Bismarck Archipelago, and the northern Solomon Islands. Many subspecies are rec ...

* Eastern water dragon

Birds

* Rainbow bee-eater *

Australian brushturkey The Australian brushturkey, Australian brush-turkey, or gweela (''Alectura lathami''), also frequently called the bush turkey or scrub turkey, is a common, widespread species of mound-building bird from the family (biology), family Megapode, Meg ...

Butcherbird Butcherbirds are songbirds closely related to the Australian magpie. Most are found in the genus ''Cracticus'', but the black butcherbird is placed in the monotypic genus ''Melloria''. They are native to Australasia. Taxonomy Together with thr ...

Pied butcherbird The pied butcherbird (''Cracticus nigrogularis'') is a songbird native to Australia. Described by John Gould in 1837, it is a black and white bird long with a long hooked bill. Its head and throat are black, making a distinctive hood; the Bird ...

* Golden-headed cisticola *

Little black cormorant The little black cormorant (''Phalacrocorax sulcirostris'') is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It is common in smaller rivers and lakes throughout most areas of Australia and northern New Zealand, where it is known as the little bla ...

* Pheasant coucal *

Torresian crow The Torresian crow (''Corvus orru''), also called the Australian crow or Papuan crow, is a passerine bird in the crow family native to the north and west of Australia and nearby islands in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The species has a black p ...

Black-faced cuckooshrike The black-faced cuckooshrike (''Coracina novaehollandiae'') is a common omnivorous passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. It has a protected status in Australia, under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974. They are wid ...

Bush stone-curlew The bush stone-curlew or bush thick-knee (''Burhinus grallarius'', obsolete name ''Burhinus magnirostris'') is a large, ground-dwelling bird Endemism, endemic to Australia. Its favoured habitat is open plains and woodlands, where it stalks slowly ...

* Far Eastern curlew * Pied currawong * Dollarbird * Bar-shouldered dove *

Spotted dove The spotted dove or eastern spotted dove (''Spilopelia chinensis'') is a small and somewhat long-tailed pigeon that is a common resident breeding bird across its native range on the Indian subcontinent and in East and Southeast Asia. The species ...

* Spangled drongo *

Pacific black duck The Pacific black duck (''Anas superciliosa''), commonly known as the PBD, is a dabbling duck found in much of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific, reaching to the Caroline Islands in the no ...

Little eagle The little eagle (''Hieraaetus morphnoides'') is a very small eagle endemic to Australia. Taxonomy John Gould Species description, described the little eagle in 1841. The distinctive pygmy eagle has long been considered a subspecies, but a 2009 ...

White-bellied sea eagle The white-bellied sea eagle (''Icthyophaga leucogaster''), also known as the white-breasted sea eagle, is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related ...

Red-backed fairywren The red-backed fairywren (''Malurus melanocephalus'') is a species of passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is Endemism, endemic to Australia and can be found near rivers and coastal areas along the northern and eastern ...

Superb fairywren The superb fairywren (''Malurus cyaneus'') is a passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae, and is common and familiar across south-eastern Australia. It is a sedentary and territorial species, also exhibiting a high degree of se ...

* Grey fantail * Australasian figbird * Double-barred finch *

Leaden flycatcher The leaden flycatcher (''Myiagra rubecula'') is a species of passerine bird in the family Monarchidae. Around 15 cm (6 in) in length, the male is lustrous azure with white underparts, while the female possesses leaden head, mantle and ...

Noisy friarbird The noisy friarbird (''Philemon corniculatus'') is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to southern New Guinea and eastern Australia. It is one of several species known as friarbirds whose heads are bare of feathers. It ...

Tawny frogmouth The tawny frogmouth (''Podargus strigoides'') is a species of frogmouth native to the Australian mainland and Tasmania and found throughout. It is a big-headed, stocky bird often mistaken for an owl due to its nocturnal habits and similar colouri ...

Galah The galah (; ''Eolophus roseicapilla''), less commonly known as the pink and grey cockatoo or rose-breasted cockatoo, is an Australian species of cockatoo and the only member of the genus ''Eolophus''. The galah is adapted to a wide variety of m ...

Bar-tailed godwit The bar-tailed godwit (''Limosa lapponica'') is a large and strongly migratory wader in the family Scolopacidae, which feeds on bristle-worms and shellfish on coastal mudflats and estuaries. It has distinctive red breeding plumage, long legs, ...

Silver gull The silver gull (''Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae'') is a gull in Oceania. It is the most common gull of Australia. It has been found throughout the continent, but particularly at or near coastal areas. It is smaller than the Pacific gull (''L ...

* Striated heron *

White-faced heron The white-faced heron (''Egretta novaehollandiae'') also known as the white-fronted heron, and incorrectly as the grey heron, or blue crane, is a common bird throughout most of Australasia, including New Guinea, the islands of Torres Strait, Indo ...

Blue-faced honeyeater The blue-faced honeyeater (''Entomyzon cyanotis''), also colloquially known as the Bananabird, is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae. It is the monotypic taxon, only member of its genus, and it is most closely related to hon ...

Brown honeyeater The brown honeyeater (''Lichmera indistincta'') is a species of bird in the family Honeyeater, Meliphagidae. It belongs to the honeyeaters, a group of birds which have highly developed brush-tipped tongues adapted for nectar feeding. Honeyeater ...

* Striped honeyeater *

Straw-necked ibis The straw-necked ibis (''Threskiornis spinicollis'') is a bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. It can be found throughout Australia, New Guinea, and parts of Indonesia. Adults have distinctive straw-like feathers on their neck ...

Sacred kingfisher The sacred kingfisher (''Todiramphus sanctus'') is a medium-sized woodland kingfisher that occurs in mangroves, woodlands, forests and river valleys in Australia, New Zealand and other parts of the western Pacific. Taxonomy The binomial name ''H ...

* Black-shouldered kite *

Brahminy kite The brahminy kite (''Haliastur indus''), also known as the red-backed sea-eagle in Australia, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal Bird of prey, raptors, such as eagles, buzzards, and h ...

Whistling kite The whistling kite (''Haliastur sphenurus'') is a medium-sized Diurnal animal, diurnal Bird of prey, raptor found throughout Australia (including coastal islands), New Caledonia and much of New Guinea (excluding the central mountains and the north ...

Kookaburra Kookaburras (pronounced ) are terrestrial animal, terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus ''Dacelo'' native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between in length and weigh around . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri language, Wira ...

Masked lapwing The masked lapwing (''Vanellus miles'') is a large, common and conspicuous bird native to Australia (particularly the northern and eastern parts of the continent), New Zealand and New Guinea. It spends most of its time on the ground searching for ...

Rainbow lorikeet The rainbow lorikeet (''Trichoglossus moluccanus'') is a species of parrot found in Australia. It is common along the eastern seaboard, from northern Queensland to South Australia. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. Six ...

* Scaly-breasted lorikeet *

Australian magpie The Australian magpie (''Gymnorhina tibicen'') is a black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea, and introduced to New Zealand, and the Fijian island of Taveuni. Although once considered to be three separate ...

* Noisy miner *

Mistletoebird The mistletoebird (''Dicaeum hirundinaceum''), also known as the mistletoe flowerpecker, is a species of flowerpecker native to most of Australia (though absent from Tasmania and the driest desert areas) and also to the eastern Maluku Islands ...

Scarlet myzomela The scarlet myzomela or scarlet honeyeater (''Myzomela sanguinolenta'') is a small passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to Australia. It was first species description, described by English ornithologist John Latham (ornith ...

Olive-backed oriole The olive-backed oriole (''Oriolus sagittatus''), or white-bellied oriole, is a very common medium-sized passerine bird native to northern and eastern Australia and south-central New Guinea. The most wide-ranging of the Australasian orioles, it ...

Osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

Australian pelican The Australian pelican (''Pelecanus conspicillatus'') is a large waterbird in the family Pelecanidae, widespread on the inland and coastal waters of Australia and New Guinea, also in Fiji, parts of Indonesia and as a vagrant in New Zealand. It ...

Australian pipit The Australian pipit (''Anthus australis'') is a fairly small passerine bird of open country in Australia and New Guinea. It belongs to the pipit genus ''Anthus'' in the family Motacillidae. Description It is a slender bird, 16 to 19 cm l ...

Double-banded plover The double-banded plover (''Anarhynchus bicinctus''), known as the banded dotterel or pohowera in New Zealand, is a species of bird in the plover family. Two subspecies are recognised: the nominate ''Charadrius bicinctus bicinctus'', which bree ...

Brown quail The brown quail (''Synoicus ypsilophorus''), also known as the swamp quail, silver quail and Tasmanian quail, is an Australasian true quail of the family Phasianidae. It is a small, ground-dwelling bird and is native to mainland Australia, Tasman ...

* Buff-banded rail *

Silvereye The silvereye or wax-eye (''Zosterops lateralis''), also known by its Māori name tauhou, is a very small omnivorous passerine bird of the south-west Pacific. In Australia and New Zealand its common name is sometimes white-eye, but this name is ...

Welcome swallow The welcome swallow (''Hirundo neoxena'') is a small passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae that is native to Australia and Melanesia, nearby islands. It has self-introduced into New Zealand in the middle of the twentieth century. It ...

Common tern The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in Temperateness, temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is stron ...

Greater crested tern The greater crested tern Retrieved 28 February 2012 (''Thalasseus bergii''), also called crested tern, swift tern, or great crested tern, is a tern in the family Laridae that nests in dense colonies on coastlines and islands in the tropical and ...

Yellow-rumped thornbill The yellow-rumped thornbill (''Acanthiza chrysorrhoa'') is a species of passerine bird from the genus Acanthiza. The genus was once placed in the family Pardalotidae but that family was split and it is now in the family Acanthizidae. There are fo ...

* Willie wagtail * Whimbrel

References

{{coord, -27.950, 153.428, type:landmark_region:AU-QLD_dim:3000, display=title Tourist attractions on the Gold Coast, Queensland Nature reserves in Queensland