Coffin Island is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

that is located in the Great Southern region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. The island is offshore from

Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve is a protected area managed by the Department of Parks and Wildlife east of Albany, Western Australia. The area is accessible by 2WD vehicles. The bay itself, including two small secluded beaches, faces due eas ...

and the island is also a protected area making up part of the reserve. With an area of the island is made up mostly of granite.

Fauna

Coffin Island forms part of the Two Peoples Bay and Mount Manypeaks Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its significance in the conservation of several rare and threatened bird species.BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Two Peoples Bay and Mount Manypeaks. Downloaded from on 18 November 2011. The island is recognised as a breeding site for

great-winged petrel The great-winged petrel (''Pterodroma macroptera'') is a petrel. Taxonomy This species was formerly treated as containing two subspecies - ''P. m. macroptera'' and ''P. m. gouldi'', the latter of which is endemic to New Zealand. As of 2014, th ...

s. Other seabirds such as

flesh-footed shearwater The flesh-footed shearwater (''Ardenna carneipes''; formerly ''Puffinus carneipes'') is a medium-sized shearwater. Its plumage is black. It has pale pinkish feet, and a pale bill with a distinct black tip. Together with the equally light-billed p ...

s and little penguins also have colonies on the island. The island also provides haul-out sites for

New Zealand fur seal ''Arctocephalus forsteri'' (common names include the Australasian fur seal, South Australian fur seal, New Zealand fur seal, Antipodean fur seal, or long-nosed fur seal) is a species of fur seal found mainly around southern Australia and New Z ...

s with a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of approximately 100 being recorded on the island in 1990. Australian sea lions also make use of the island in smaller numbers.

Flora

The island has sufficient

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debri ...

accumulated over its surface to support Berry Saltbush

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

References

{{reflist Nature reserves in Western Australia Islands of the Great Southern (Western Australia) Important Bird Areas of Western Australia