when to remove a finchs nest

Question
i just woke up to find out that my father had removed a huge nest that had been built between the awnings and the house. the birds were a true delight and when the babies hatched it was neat to hear them chirp when the mother returned to feed them.  all of that said, i hope that gives you a vague description as to how far along the birds were.  today, my father says he has not seen them for a couple of days and when he extracted it, there were no babies to be seen.  did he prematurely clear the nest away, or am i overeacting?  would the parent and baby birds have returned?  p.s. i don't know about whether or not they have been gone for long because my mom and i just got back in town.

Answer
So these were wild birds. Wild birds aren't really my area of expertise but I'll give this my best shot. Were the babies still in the nest when you left and how long were they gone? Chances are that mom had taken them out to learn how to fly and feed. If this is the case, your father has seriously messed up that family. Since they are wild, I wouldn't rule out a predator eating them.
He should have left the nest alone and if they no longer were using the nest or were indeed dead, the nest would have fallen apart because of neglect.
If they haven't returned by now, chances are they aren't returning at all.
On a side note, since you liked the birds so much, buy a good bird house and put it somewhere where you can see the family and listen to them. I have a bird house and every spring a pair of chickadees comes and uses it.