So this is what we were searching for in the clump of trees in the photos Everglades 5 and Everglades 6. I'm not an ornithologist so I'm not going to make an attempt to say what types of birds these are. Birds is good enough for me.
Was working on some more photos today and decided to revisit Everglades 3. Below is an alternate interpretation.
It looked to us as though the thunder storm ahead was moving away so my pilot set the airboat in motion once more and we bounced across the water and grass towards the clump of trees in the middle of yesterday's photo. In today's image you can see how the frequent passing of the airboats has worn a trail through the sawgrass.
On the horizon in the middle of this shot is a clump of trees that we were heading for but first we had to watch where the storm beyond it was going. Sitting atop an aluminum airboat in a huge flat expanse of wetlands is certainly not one of the recommended behaviors in the Boy Scout handbook for what to do in a thunderstorm!
The part of the Everglades we were exploring is the Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area-Water Conservation Area 3B, according to Google Maps. Not the most romantic name. This corner of the everglades is mostly grassland but there are a few islands dotted here and there that stand a few feet higher than the surrounding land.
Another thunder storm was rolling across the horizon. We could see the lightning but not hear any thunder over the roar of the 68' Chevy engine and huge fan that were propelling the boat. Bottom left you can see Captain Greg's boat heading across the sawgrass.