David, I like the light, and stands out nicely against the darker BG. I agree on the rotation, and looks like you may have applied a bit of NR on the egret, as some areas look a tad smooth.
Good comp, subject, and "perch". Looks like you had some nice light going. The saturation may be a bit much, especially on the red channel...I tried desaturating the reds in PS and liked the results (without touching the yellow channel you still retain the "golden" light). I may eliminate the OOF debris on the beach.