Hello. I had a pair of Bluetits build their nest in my box recently, and their chicks have now all hatched and now left the nest. I had a webcam set up in the garden to watch them while I was at work. The webcam recorded a Magpie snatching one of the chicks right out of the box, which was upsetting.
The last one left yesterday, but yesterday evening none of them were around in the garden where I expected they would be, and I couldn't hear any calls from them. This morning one of the parents showed up with some food and peaked into the box to check it was empty, and then flew away again and hasn't been back to the box.
Being concerned about the Magpie's predatory behaviour, I was just concerned about what might have happened to the chicks. Is it normal for them to completely leave the area once they are out of the nest? I assumed that they would stay around for a while, being partially still dependant on the parents for feeding.