An osprey nest that stood for more than 20 years atop a utility pole at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds has been reduced to a few sticks scattered on the parking lot ground.

The nest — and the pole that supported it — were removed in April by Pacific Power at the behest of the Redmond Airport and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A month later, the osprey pair that most recently called the nest home still soar above where the pole used to be, seeking a new place to build amid an expanding city.

According to Zach Bass, Redmond Airport manager, a USDA wildlife mitigation exporter identified the nest as a hazard both to airplane passengers and to the birds itself.

In the last five years, flights and passengers have doubled at the Redmond Airport, with more than 1.1 million people expected to fly through this year.

The planes themselves have gotten bigger as well, in order to fit the growing number of passengers. Redmond is now the third-largest commercial airport in Oregon, trailing only Portland and Eugene.

“We’re growing and that means we need

to take certain precautions,” Redmond Airport Director Zachary Bass said. “(Removing the nest) wasn’t an easy decision that

had to be made, but keeping people safe

is our main job.”

Local birdwatchers said the ospreys had been using the pole, which had a platform on top of it to encourage nestbuilding, for many years and was not causing a hazard.

Jerry Coyner of Redmond works in the area. He said that for more than a decade, he has watched the osprey soar around the fairground and raise their young.

“They were fun to watch when the babies were just learning,” Coyner said. “I don’t think they were hurting anything.”

The decision was made to remove the nest and platform before the pair returned this spring and before any eggs were, said Bass.

He said the nest was moved to a new pole at Juniper Golf Course in hopes that the osprey will find it, though.

“The birds don’t care about the FAA and their regulations, they put a nest where they want to put a nest,” said Kevin Smith, a bird observer who volunteers at the Audubon Society.

Smith has successfully helped move nests for the past 10 years to more suitable locations and said he was not contacted for the fairgrounds removal.

Both airport officials and birdwatchers said moving the nest was a difficult decision.

“I understand growth, but this one hurts,” said Coyner.