The Hunter Estuary Wetlands comprise a group of associated wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

s at and near the mouth of the Hunter River

Hunter River

The Hunter River is a major river in New South Wales, Australia. The Hunter River rises in the Liverpool Range and flows generally south and then east, reaching the Pacific Ocean at Newcastle, the second largest city in New South Wales and a major port....

 in the city of Newcastle

Newcastle, New South Wales

The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...

, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Some 30 km² of the wetlands has been recognised as being of international importance by designation under the Ramsar Convention

Ramsar Convention

The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...

. It was listed on 21 February 1984 as Ramsar site 287. A larger area of the wetlands has been identified 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...

 as an 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). The wetlands are recognised as the most important area in New South Wales for wader

Wader

Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...

s, or shorebirds.

Ramsar site

The Ramsar site comprises the Kooragang Nature Reserve and the nearby Shortland Wetlands, which are connected by a wildlife corridor that includes the Hunter River and Ironbark Creek. Kooragang Island

Kooragang Island

Kooragang Island is located in the Hunter River of New South Wales, Australia and is the site of a deep water port for the export of coal. In 2007, 84.8 million metric tons of coal were exported from the port, making it one of the busiest in the world...

 is an artificial, estuarine island liable to flooding at high tide. Its habitats include mangrove

Mangrove

Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...

s, brackish and freshwater swamp

Swamp

A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...

s, saltmarsh

Salt marsh

A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...

, Casuarina

Casuarina

Casuarina is a genus of 17 species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australasia, southeast Asia, and islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It was once treated as the sole genus in the family, but has been split into three genera .They are evergreen shrubs and trees growing to 35 m tall...

forest, mudflat

Mudflat

Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats, are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries. Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, resulting from deposition of...

s, beaches and rock walls. The site is important for migratory

Bird migration

Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...

 wader

Wader

Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...

s and the mangroves are important for fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

. Surrounding areas are used for livestock

Livestock

Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...

 grazing

Grazing

Grazing generally describes a type of feeding, in which a herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs...

 and heavy industry

Heavy industry

Heavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning as compared to light industry. It can mean production of products which are either heavy in weight or in the processes leading to their production. In general, it is a popular term used within the name of many Japanese and Korean firms, meaning...

.

Shortland is a small (45 ha) complex of various wetland types that was added to the Ramsar site in 2002. It contains Melaleuca

Melaleuca

Melaleuca is a genus of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae known for its natural soothing and cleansing properties. There are well over 200 recognised species, most of which are endemic to Australia...

swamp forest, freshwater reed marsh

Marsh

In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....

, and a mangrove-lined creek, surrounded by urban development. The previously degraded wetlands have been restored through the establishment of the Shortland Wetlands Centre (now the Hunter Wetlands Centre Australia) in 1984.

Important Bird Area

The 85 km² IBA includes, as well as the Ramsar-listed areas, the Hexham Swamp, Pambalong and Newcastle Wetlands Nature Reserves. It was identified as an IBA because the swamps and the estuary support the endangered Australasian Bittern

Australasian Bittern

The Australasian Bittern , also known as the Brown Bittern, is found in south-western and south-eastern Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, New Caledonia and Ouvea. Populations in Australia and New Zealand have declined in the 20th century.It is a large bittern, patterned and streaked brown, buff...

 and over 1% of the world populations of Chestnut Teal

Chestnut Teal

The Chestnut Teal is a dabbling duck found in southern Australia. It is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.-Description:The Chestnut Teal is darker and a slightly bigger bird than the Grey Teal....

, Straw-necked Ibis

Straw-necked Ibis

The Straw-necked Ibis is a bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. It can be found throughout Australia, New Guinea, and parts of Indonesia. Adults have distinctive straw-like feathers on their neck....

, Red-necked Avocet

Red-necked Avocet

The Red-necked Avocet is a water bird found throughout Australia, except for the northern parts of the Northern Territory....

, Eastern Curlew, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

The Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Calidris acuminata is a small wader.- Taxonomy :More recently, a review of new data has indicated that this bird should perhaps better be placed into the genus Philomachus- as P...

 and sometimes Latham's Snipe

Latham's Snipe

Latham's Snipe, Gallinago hardwickii, also known as Japanese Snipe, is a medium-sized , long-billed, migratory wader.-Identification:...

.