Swain Reefs is a national park

National park

A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...

 in Queensland (Australia), 703 km north of Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

. It was established in 1995 and covers an area of 0.58 km². It is managed by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

Important Bird Area

Nine small cay

Cay

A cay , also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans , where they provide habitable and agricultural land for hundreds of thousands of people...

s, with a combined area of 9 ha, comprise the Swain Reefs Important Bird Area

Important Bird Area

An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...

 (IBA), identified as such by BirdLife International

BirdLife International

BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...

 because together they support over 1% of the world population of breeding Roseate Tern

Roseate Tern

The Roseate Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in bill colour and minor plumage details....

s, and even larger numbers of non-breeding Roseate Terns, with up to 25,000 individuals recorded there. Other birds recorded on the cays include Masked

Masked Booby

The Masked Booby, Sula dactylatra, is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. This species breeds on islands in tropical oceans, except in the eastern Atlantic; in the eastern Pacific it is replaced by the Nazca Booby, Sula granti, which was formerly regarded as a subspecies of Masked Booby...

 and Brown Boobies

Brown Booby

The Brown Booby is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. The adult brown booby reaches about in length. Its head and upper body are covered in dark brown, with the remainder being a contrasting white. The juvenile form is gray-brown with darkening on the head, wings and tail...

, Silver Gull

Silver Gull

The Silver Gull also known simply as "seagull" in Australia, is the most common gull seen in Australia. It has been found throughout the continent, but particularly coastal areas. The South African Hartlaub's Gull and the New Zealand Red-billed Gull The Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus...

s, Black-naped

Black-naped Tern

The Black-naped Tern is an oceanic tern mostly found in tropical and subtropical areas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is rarely found inland....

, Sooty

Sooty Tern

The Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscatus , is a seabird of the tern family . It is a bird of the tropical oceans, breeding on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Colloquially, it is known as the Wideawake Tern or just wideawake...

, Bridled

Bridled Tern

The Bridled Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans.-Description:...

, Greater Crested

Greater Crested Tern

The Greater Crested Tern , also called Crested Tern or Swift Tern, is a seabird in the tern family which nests in dense colonies on coastlines and islands in the tropical and subtropical Old World...

, Lesser Crested

Lesser Crested Tern

The Lesser Crested Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae...

 and Little Tern

Little Tern

The Little Tern, Sternula albifrons or Sterna albifrons, is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It was formerly placed into the genus Sterna, which now is restricted to the large white terns . The former North American and Red Sea S. a...

s, Black

Black Noddy

The Black Noddy or White-capped Noddy is a seabird from the tern family. It resembles the closely related Brown or Common Noddy , but is smaller with darker plumage, a whiter cap, a longer, straighter beak and shorter tail...

 and Common Noddies, and Lesser Frigatebird

Lesser Frigatebird

The Lesser Frigatebird, Fregata ariel, is a species of frigatebird.It nests in Australia, among other locations.There is a single record from the Western Palearctic, from Eilat in the Gulf of Aqaba....

s. Cays supporting seabirds include Gannet Cay (1.7 ha), Bylund Cay (0.6 ha), Thomas Cay (1 ha), Bacchi Cay (0.5 ha), Frigate Cay (2 ha), Price Cay (1.6 ha), Distant Cay (0.25 ha), Riptide Cay (0.25 ha) and Bell Cay (1.5 ha).