Three flying disks, spotted close up during daylight hours.

I was sixteen years old at the time.  We lived on a farm on Shirk Road, west of the city of Visalia.  I was walking south along the edge of a vineyard when something caught my eye in my peripheral vision.  I turned and saw three disks flying in formation about fifty yards east of my position and only about 20 feet above the tops of the valley oak trees growing on the canal bank on the north edge of the vineyard.  Two of them were close together with the third following behind them.
They were shaped like truncated cones.  They had the appearance of brushed stainless steel--a dull gray color.  They were flying silently at about 30 mph.  As I watched them, I had the distinct impression that they were also observing me.  I can't really explain that sensation.
As I stood watching them, they floated over the vineyard, and then suddenly, they was a red streak in the sky, arching upwards and they were gone.
 I was studying for the FAA private pilot's exam at the time.  My father was an anti-aircraft gunner in WWII.  When I was small, his idea of a fun time on Sundays was to go to the airport and watch planes take off and land.  I can honestly say that I could identify practically every aircraft I spotted in the air at the time.  These were not airplanes, helicopters, balloons or blimps.  They were silent disks capable of silent flight and incredible acceleration.  
The sun was still high in the sky, and they were plainly visible.
Witness indicates that the date of the event is approximate.  PD