A Missouri father and son were sentenced in federal court for illegally destroying two bald eagle nests on their farm property in Ray County.

Ronald L. Gibson, 70, and Todd A. Gibson, 49, of Norborne were each sentenced to two years of probation and fined $5,000 by U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert E. Larsen.

The court also ordered 100 hours of community service with the Big Muddy National Wildlife Refuge in Columbia, MO.

The nests sat in cottonwood trees on farm property owned by the pair. Officials say the larger nest had been on the property for at least a decade and was bigger than the bed of a pick-up truck.

The nest drew people to the intersection of J Highway and Missouri River Road every spring to watch the mating pair and their offspring.

Another father and son, Teddy Gardner of Breckenridge, Mo., and Michael Gardner of Pattonsburg, will be sentenced January 31 on similar charges. The Gibsons contracted with Joe Gardner Logging and Sawmill Co. to remove timber from the farm, including the large cottonwood trees that contained one of the nests. The Gardners pleaded guilty in late September.

In his guilty plea, Ronald Gibson admitted that he knew the bald eagle nest was in the tree when it was cut down and the nest destroyed. Prosecutors say Michael Gardner operated the saw that cut down the tree containing the nest.

Todd Gibson admitted that he asked the Gardners to return to the farm property in April 2010 to complete the logging so the property could be farmed. At that time, Todd Gibson directed them to cut down another tree that contained a bald eagle nest.