I think it looks like deer too. Since they are small and non-bearing try spraying them the with deer repellent like Bobbex Deer Repellent or whatever brand is sold in your area (usually has garlic and rotten eggs in the mix so it will smell bad). Or try hanging the stinky bars of soap in the tree. They provide some relieve. Is the fence too close and just around the tree? If so try using a wider circle of fencing to keep the 4 legged thieves away. I can relate as they ate down apples I personally grafted 2 years in a row! Stinky deer repellent proved some relief for a few weeks. Lost two seasons worth of growth. After 6 years they are finally bearing some fruit. The deer still mow some of my lower branches.

Agree with the above. Once that sort of fungal organism appears, the tree (or branch if not on the trunk) is dying from the inside out. But trees showing these sorts of growths can often live on for many years, with the exterior portion of the wood providing the support and the transport pathways for water and nutrients.

That nest isn't big enough to deal with pest control. I do admit to calling them two years ago when 'out of the blue' one that was basketball sized appeared in a cherry. Hanging right over the circular drive exactly where one friend would typically park. Bald faced hornets (black and white, and large) One your size, I would knock loose. And probably very early in the morning when still cool out and they aren't especially active. If its in an agreeable (easy) spot, you could have a bucket of soapy water underneath to catch the nest in. I wouldn't even spray and risk burning foliage on my tree for that newly occurring nest. If someplace on my property (an acre) where they aren't threatening, I'll leave them. If later in the year they might be dangerous to people like my allergic mother, mail carrier, I'll remove. That pest control experience was expensive (like $160) but I couldn't muster up enthusiasm for going out in other than daylight hours, climbing a ladder, trying to take care of it. He came, suited up fully and netted his face and neck, brought his own ladder and sprayed immediately into the entrance with something he said was non toxic to other than the hornets who came into contact with it. He came the next day again for followup, and removed the nest then.

Bugs in pictures above are similar to larval stage of thrips. Brightening of the images shows no wing structures and shows body segmentations.