Looks like any other gull to me, but this was one of hundreds following our cruise ship out of Oslo recently. nikon d40x, hand held on the ship, 1/1250, manual, 5.6, iso 400. I wish there'd been more clouds for contrast, but it was a dull, overcast day.
Hazel, I like the eye contact and we get a strong sense of the ease with which these birds glide along. I might be tempted to lighten the image and perhaps a little tweak in curves for some contrast..
Dull light is generally better than harsh light for gulls, as harsh light tends to produce unwelcome shadows. There is rather a lot of plain sky in this image, and I would suggest a crop from the bottom. Also, the bird lacks "pop" and needs a bit more sharpening, so might be a good target for selective unsharp mask at 20, 60, 0, or as Nicki has suggested, tweaking for a bit more contrast. The bird appears to be a Herring gull.
Hazel, I like how the light falls through the edge of the wings, and you have exposed the gull nicely. Maybe selecting the BG, and boosting the contrast will make this pop even more.
Hazel, I like the clouds in this one a lot. You can move the bird a little to the left in the frame, I think. Agree that the bird has come out a bit soft. Some sharpening will help.