21st day -- Autumn nye

I'm cheating a little on this one because since I am traveling, I don't always have an internet connection to allow me to make a post. So I'm posting one day later actually. And a second cheat is that I'm posting a picture from day 18 just because I like the picture and want to include it. This picture, I know, is blurry because my small camera does not have great zoom capabilities. But it does hold some surprises.

My son Tom and I had taken his girls to school this overcast morning and on the return trip had discovered a sheltered dip in the country road which had been claimed by a large nye of ring-necked pheasants. (Yep -- a flock of pheasants is called a "nye"!)Tom counted thirty cocks in the group! When I returned to capture some shots, the birds were very skittish about letting me get close enough for good focus. They flew or ran at the slightest inclination. (A group of pheasants in flight is called a "bouquet.") Good reason to do so -- hunting season was just three days away at the time.

Off into the field, one cock stood boldly on top of a hay bale, knowing that he was far enough away to be safe, so I shot him. Photo-wise. When I cropped the picture to get the composition I wanted, I saw two more pheasants in the foreground which I had not seen from my car. And when I continued to look closely, more white ringnecks caught my attention. See if you can find the nine pheasants -- and if you find more than that, let me know. Double click on the picture to enlarge it.