Hay Island is an island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

, with an area of 1.85 ha

Hectare

The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...

 and a high point 78 m asl

Above mean sea level

The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...

, in south-eastern 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...

. It is part of the Swainson Island Group

Swainson Island Group

The Swainson Island Group lies off the coast of southern part of the West Coast of Tasmania consists of five islands: Lourah Island, the Shanks Island Group, Hay Island, Big Caroline Rock, and Swainson Island off the coast of Tasmania....

, lying close to the southern end of the western coast of Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

. It is also part of the Southwest National Park

Southwest National Park

The Southwest National Park is a national park located in the south-west of Tasmania, Australia. The park is Tasmania's largest and forms part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area....

, and thus within the Tasmanian Wilderness

Tasmanian Wilderness

The Tasmanian Wilderness is a term that is used for a range of areas in Tasmania, Australia.The World Heritage Areas in South West, Western and Central are the most well known. However, there are also other areas in Tasmania that have the elements of being known as wilderness areas, the Tarkine...

 World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

. The island is part of the Port Davey Islands Important Bird Area

Port Davey Islands Important Bird Area

The Port Davey Islands Important Bird Area comprises over 20 small, rocky islands scattered both within, and in the vicinity of, the mouth of Port Davey, an inlet on the south-west coast of Tasmania, Australia...

, so 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...

 because of its importance for breeding seabirds.

Fauna

Recorded breeding seabird

Seabird

Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...

 and 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...

 species are the Short-tailed Shearwater

Short-tailed Shearwater

The Short-tailed Shearwater or Slender-billed Shearwater , also called Yolla or Moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in Australian waters, and is one of the few Australian native birds in which the chicks are commercially harvested...

 (7500 pairs) and Fairy Prion

Fairy Prion

The Fairy Prion is a small seabird with the standard prion plumage of black upperparts and white underneath with an "M" wing marking.-Taxonomy:...

(1-2000 pairs).