The Rubicon Estuary is an

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

on the central coast of northern

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, south-eastern

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 ...

, lying next to the town of

Port Sorell Port Sorell is a town on the north-central coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is on the waterway of the same name, just off Bass Strait, 20 km east of Devonport, Tasmania, Devonport and close to Shearwater, Tasmania, Shearwater and Hawley Be ...

Description

The estuary has a shallow muddy substrate and is fed by several streams, including the Franklin Rivulet and Rubicon River. It is bounded by Port Sorell, Hawley Beach,

Shearwater Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae. They have a global marine distribution, but are most common in temperate and cold waters, and are pelagic outside the breeding season. Description These tube ...

and Squeaking Point on the west, the

Narawntapu National Park Narawntapu National Park (formerly known as Asbestos Range National Park) is a national park in the Australian state of Tasmania. It lies on Tasmania's north coast, adjoining Bass Strait, between Port Sorell in the west and the mouth of the T ...

on the north-east, and

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...

on the east and south.

Birds

The site has been identified by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

as a 14 km²

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) because it supports over 1% of the world population of

pied oystercatcher The pied oystercatcher (''Haematopus longirostris'') is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird native to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. The similar South Island pied oystercatcher (''H. finschi'') occurs in New Zealand. ...

s, as well as smaller numbers of other

wader 245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...

species.

References

Important Bird Areas of Tasmania Northern Tasmania Estuaries of Tasmania {{Tasmania-geo-stub