This presumed first cycle Kelp
Gull (Larus dominicus) was photographed at Quintana (base of jetty and also further south past the fishing pier) on December 19, 2008; an adult Kelp Gull was found by Ron Weeks at the same location in early November (and seen December 19 a few miles to the north). Note the following features:-
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size (a bit smaller than AMHE);
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shortish, thick, all-dark bill;
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thick neck and somewhat large head with slightly flattened forecrown;
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broad-based wings;
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white underparts with limited dark markings that are more spot/blotch-shaped than streak-shaped;
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second-generation scaps that are mid-gray with a dark wedge centered on the shaft and some with thin, faint subterminal anchor marks;
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virtually all-dark tail (from above) contrasting with the white background of the uppertail coverts and rump:
in the image below, compare the bill shape of the presumed 1C KEGU to that of the 1C AMHE in front of it:
note in the images above and below the dull ochre tone to the legs compared to AMHE, and the grayish area above the "knee":
