Where does my budgie belong?

[LiaraTivona]

When we moved across the country, I left my budgie Patrick with a friend. We drove across the country, froze our butts off in Yellowstone, camped out while we waited for our house to become available; we were glad he didn't travel with us. I was planning on shipping him via Petsafe, but then I got worried they wouldn't take care of him so I've been saving to go back to the East Coast from Oregon to pick him up and bring him back.

Now, the friend is bonded with him. It is hard for me to tell from here how happy he is. She said he spends time out of the cage (and on her head), he tweets to the shower, she and her son talk to him a lot, and that when her son went on a trip, the bird was super sad that he was gone.

He spent the first year of his life with me, the second with them. Where does he belong now? Will he happier here with me, my partner, and our other bird Atrus? or will be be sad to leave the family that he has fallen in love with?

[Pajarita]

Your question cannot be answered by us, only you can judge this but you would have to go back and see how he receives you after not seeing you for a year, if he is healthy and happy with them and how he interacts with his new family and then and only then make the decision.