beautiful day

My husband and I dropped everything we were supposed to do today to spend a few hours at Loon Lake, in the foothills of the Adirondacks. That's where our 'camp' (summer cottage) is located. The air was autumn-fresh, sunny and cool, and I took the opportunity to get my kayak out on the lake. The colors are just beginning to turn; in another week or so the hills (behind me in my kayak) will be flaming with reds and oranges and golds. There's nothing like autumn in the Adirondacks. We spent about an hour just sitting on the dock marveling at how beautiful the day was.

It was rather windy on the lake when I was out in the kayak, and when I tried to shoot photos of these birds and the vibrant red dragonfly, I kept getting blown into rocks, and when the wind calmed down, the dragonfly flew away with an identical friend. Good thing I have a trusty kayak, as it was REALLY windy for a while! I have to look in a bird ID book and find out what these really cool birds are. I've never seen them on the lake before. Does anyone know what they are?