Current view: Text account
Site description (2008 baseline):
Site location and context
The Egg Islands are a series of small estuarine islands in the channel of the Huon River between Huonville and Franklin in south-east Tasmania. The islands are dominated by are two types of vegetation: saline grasslands, which are important for Australasian Bitterns, and Swamp Gum forest in excellent condition. Other habitats include short paperbark swamp and freshwater aquatic herbland on peat soils formed during flood events. Historically the Egg Islands were private freehold tenure and they have been used for cattle grazing and some vegetable cropping until the early 1980s. The last known fire on the islands was in the mid-1980s. The area around Egg Islands is an historically important area for hunting and fishing, and the Huon River is popular for boating and fishing, but it is rare for people to land on the islands due to the density of vegetation and swampy terrain. The banks of the river and lower hill slopes adjacent to the islands are predominantly residential or agricultural, whereas the upper slopes are still predominantly forested. The small regional town of Franklin is adjacent to South Egg Island and the waterfront is increasingly being developed for residential/hobby farming purposes, increasing the potential visitor impact on the islands.
The Endangered Swift Parrot is reported to use Black Gum forest (D. Kingdom, Tasmanian Land Conservancy, pers. comm. 2008). Other species recorded within the IBA include Tasmanian Native-hen, Green Rosella, Yellow Wattlebird, Black-headed Honeyeater, Strong-billed Honeyeater, Yellow-throated Honeyeater, Dusky Robin, Striated Fieldwren and Tasmanian Thornbill (Atlas of Australian Birds database).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Develop and maintain weed control programs. Initiate a public education program to reduce risk of people starting fires. Monitor numbers of bittern and relate to any habitat management and successional changes.
Egg Islands Conservation Area.
Tasmania State Government with responsibility for management with Tasmania NPWS and Tasmania Land Conservancy. The IBA consists of Conservation Area (164 ha, Tas NPWS), Crown Land recommended for inclusion in the Conservation Area (120 ha) and Tasmanian Land Conservancy (136 ha).
Site access / Land-owner requests
Visitors should gain permission for access from the Tasmanian Land Conservancy.
Denna Kingdom of TLC kindly provided much of the information for this nomination.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Egg Islands (Huon Estuary) (Australia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/egg-islands-(huon-estuary)-iba-australia on 23/11/2024.
