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 environm ...

on the central coast of northern

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, south-eastern Australia, lying next to the town of

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

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 tub ...

and Squeaking Point on the west, the Narawntapu National Park on the north-east, and

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

on the east and south.

Birds

The site has been identified by BirdLife International as a 14 km² Important Bird Area (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 Dunlins and Red knots">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 mudflat ...

species.

References

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