Great post!
I had a goose and a gander that called the pond above the pasture home. One morning I went out and only the gander remained, and there was a trail of feathers heading out to the treeline. The gander didn’t know what to do with himself, honking and honking in distress as he looked everywhere for his mate. This went on for weeks. After he finally seemed to accept that she was gone, he took to following the horses around the pasture, seemingly for lack of any other friends. He ventured with those horses far away from the safety of the pond. One day I noticed he had a horrible limp. Figured he must have accidentally gotten stepped on. It wasn’t long after that he dissapeared too, another trail of feathers heading to the treeline. It really was sad to see how distraught he was over losing his life mate.
You don't have to try to make me feel good. That's my wife's job (and she does it well).
That’s a sad story. We have several bird pairs in our garden: Bill and Mrs. Bill, the cardinals; Tom and Mrs. Tom, the mockingbirds ...