I thought all the birds were facing the sun, but in fact they are facing the wind. This helps with communication, take off and landing and keeps their feather from being ruffled.
The blue beak should have told me immediately this was a Little Blue Heron. Herons' and egrets can be confusing.
Baby egret chicks have comical features. They grow to be elegant and graceful, like the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the "ugly Duckling."