Fledged Blue Tits - I'm suffering from empty nest syndrome! - and asking for opinions

Hi all,

Just joined the forum being newbies to nesting birds. First of all, the posts on here have given such invaluable help and advice so thank you to all who post and advise!

So we have had blue tits nesting in a box on our tree and had a camera in the box (box to left of photo attached). This has been both heart warming and heart rendering all at the same time. As it's been lovely to see the blue tit lay her eggs (about 9 in total), and see the chicks develop into mini blue tits. We had some casualties along the way, but ended up with 3 chicks. They were little characters and were starting to flap their wings so knew they were ready to flee the nest soon. 

So on Monday, my partner checked the camera at 6.30 a.m. and they were in there, but by 7.30 they were gone. As soon as we noticed, we went into the garden to see if we could see them on the ground or in the vicinity, but there was nothing. But noticed the adult was in the tree making their usual alarm sound, similar to what the male did of an evening when the female was nesting. My partner also saw that one of the adults went into the box possibly with food but of course no birds were in there. So they were either taken by surprise or just checking they had all gone.

So we are not sure what happened to them. As from reading up, I get the impression that when they leave, they bob about on the ground for a bit and the parent is nearby so they couldn't fly off so soon. But they were nowhere to be seen. After a short while, the parent flew off. This caused me concern as I have read that the family would stay local and not disappear. Later that morning, I did spot the blue tit on the feeding station getting some food and then flying into some bushes at the back of next door's garden (just to the right of the photo just out of view). This was done only a few times that morning. And since then the blue tit has not been back and it's now 48 hours later since they fledged, and we have not seen or heard one single blue tit. 

I have a bad feeling that they didn't make it, as I would have at least expected to see something of them or the adult getting food. Yesterday morning I noticed magpies in the tree as well, so I have a gut feeling they swooped on them that morning as heard they are good at keeping an eye on blue tit movement, but could they have really taken all 3 at once? I would like to think that's not possible. But I cannot think of any other explanation why they are no longer about. Would appreciate anyone's else's feedback on what they think. You can see a pic of the garden (the nest box on the left is where they were residing).

We are just gutted that we didn't see them fledge as at least we could have somehow kept an eye on them and shooed away any predators so the parents could tend to them. For me, it's the not knowing what happened, hence why would welcome anyone else's opinion on what they think could have happened or if they think they could have flown off in such a short space of time?

It's been such a shame for it to end this way, as would have liked to see a happy ending to this story rather than never knowing. I know this is nature, and we were fortunate to see the nesting experience, but sadly our emotions do get in the way, and I feel like we have lost our pets as got quite attached to seeing them, hence empty nest syndrome. So having a camera has been a bittersweet experience for us.

Sorry for such a long post, but got carried away. If anybody has any views on what could have happened I would be grateful. Who knows maybe they did make it, but the fact that we checked so soon after finding out they had gone and they are not about doesn't give me much hope. So anyone's honest opinion to give me a bit of closure on this would be good.

Thanks for your time and thrilled that we are able to have opportunities like this to be able to share our stories. Keep up the good work everyone.

Best Wishes 

Sue