Blue tit's nesting box

[coo]

We have a box visible from the house and have been watching the birds feeding their young. (no idea how many). They must have fledged in the last few days. What happens to the young birds and the parents when they leave the nest? Do they come back and should we clean the box and remove the old nest?
Thanks.
David

[RKB]

They spend about 2 weeks as a family, often moving far away from the box, and then split up. During that time they don't come back to the box, so you'll see no more activity. The same or other birds might roost in the box later on.

You can remove the nest if you wish, but it's not really necessary (nobody removes natural nests from tree holes!). The nest will compost down over winter, and during that time other creatures (such as moths and spiders) will use it for breeding and hibernating. The birds carry parasites around with them, so they will be brought in again with the next bird in any case. Blue Tits are also perfectly capable themselves of removing stuff they don't want.

There's a lot of 'advice' around saying that cleaning out boxes is vital. It isn't, so it's up to you. Personally, I let nature get on with it. Old nests are a habitat in the life-cycle of lots of other animals, so it's like having a lacewing or bee box.