Hailuoto ferries delayed to protect endangered swift nests

The planned transfer of Hailuoto ferries to Turku has been postponed to avoid killing over a hundred endangered house martin chicks, reports Finnferries.

Ferries operating between Hailuoto and Oulunsalo host dozens of nests of the protected species, which would die if the vessels were moved now, according to the company’s safety and traffic director Pasi Roos.

Roos inspected the ferries earlier this week and found around 30 nests on the Mergus ferry alone. The Meriluoto and Merisilta ferries also host nests. The vessels will remain in place temporarily to allow the birds to finish nesting undisturbed.

A wildlife expert is expected to assess the situation, with the aim of relocating the ferries in about a month.

Birdwatcher Petri Hottola alerted Finnferries to the nests, noting that house martins have nested on the ferries for as long as the service has operated. The chicks, estimated at over 100, are not yet able to fly. If the ferries had left for Turku, the chicks would have starved, as the parent birds would have been stranded in Oulunsalo and Hailuoto, unable to follow the vessels or feed their young at sea due to the lack of insects.

Hottola called the potential destruction of the nests a wildlife crime, as house martins are a protected species in Finland. The compensation value for killing or disturbing a house martin is €1,865, reflecting the rarity of the species.

The ferries’ steel beam corners provide ideal nesting spots for the birds, which prefer sheltered angles to support their nests.