KT and I were out in the back yard a couple hours ago and we saw a number of birds approaching, quite large and quite low. These turned out to be what we are pretty sure were eagles. We live quite close to a large river and we see eagles now and again, but 23 of them at a time? Never!

These were going (approximately) from the Southwest and West and toward the Northeast, two groups of about equal size joining together, then continuing on together, with the exception of one lone eagle which veered off toward the river, toward the South. So, 23 approached, and 22 left toward the mountains, directly over our house!

We floated the Skagit River once years ago, where we were witness to about a hundred eagles, but mostly, they weren't flying, they were nesting. This was like a typical flock of Canadian Geese, in migration mode, only these eagles weren't making any discernible noises.

They were in a slight V-formation, but not to the degree that a flock of Canadian Geese are in when they fly over, in their hundreds, honking loudly for minutes before they are out of sight and earshot again.

No, no sound. That was the amazing part, to see these huge majestic birds, only a hundred feet above our heads, making their way quietly past. In retrospect, they weren't entirely silent, but very quiet, compared to that many birds that normally go overhead out here.

Anyway, that was a first for me!