Well never seen a vulture but looks like they can zero in on anything dead so I guess before they see it they smell it. And I agree birds could care less if you touched their eggs or babys. We used to take baby crows for pets and Mama crow still looked after the rest. When birds are banded the parents don't just leave.

I don't have a definitive answer for you, but I think we have some nesting in our weeping cherry. I will post more once I investigate. We have definitely seen them around, though. We are in Hilliard (NW Columbus).

Awwww..so sorry to hear of this. That storm came through my yard too, and took one of my Bradford Pears down. It landed across my driveway, and luckily did not hit the house or our basketball goal. Gosh, it came through really fast. If you are not seeing them back at the house at all, then they have abandoned the nest. You don't need to wait the 2 weeks to remove the nest. Give it a few days, and when you are sure that they have abandoned, go ahead and remove the nest. Maybe they will build there again. There is still plenty of time.~~Angie

I have been hosting bluebirds for 13 seasons now & once in a while this happens. The egg was not viable apparently and the parents just left - I would imagine there were others eggs which hatched and fledged. If you were not monitoring the nestbox it would be pretty impossible to know. The bluebirds are quite tolerant of monitoring - just don't overdo it. When I have eggs in a box I look in about every 2 or 3 days to be sure there are no cracked one (this would draw ants) or one that has disappeared (could be a coon, snake, or other predator). I would go ahead & remove the nest after "weeks" and maybe they will return. Good luck.