counting coots

Looking at it initially I was struck by the shortness of the bill, and some pale parts on the chest and head.

However, closer examination of the tertials and the wings reveal it to be nothing more than a juvenile Herring Gull - note that it is not a first winter but a fresh faced juvenile. The pale parts are there because it is wet. It's not dry, it's wet. And that is why presents itself as looking a bit like a juvenile YLG, which it isn't. Funny bill though.