Bella still has 7 chicks and they are growing up fast!
Fay's three look pretty good too.
If you count the two small gapes showing right near to Bella, there are 7 chicks here too.
How we got from 11 chicks visible on Sunday 10th May down to seven live chicks on Thursday 14th with only one chick apparently dying is a bit of a mystery - but with Bertie disappearing, we should be pleased that she has brought the seven so near to fledging.
Not only three healthy gapes, but also five unhatched eggs. I wonder whether Bill disappeared when Fay had laid only four (fertile) eggs?
I'm not sure how a laying female bluetit would behave if her male vanished after she had laid only 4 eggs. Domestic fowls carry on laying eggs for months without the presence of a cockerel provided the eggs are removed from the nest each day. Perhaps female bluetits go on firing blanks in these circumstances as well!