Kelp gull; Chilean name Gaviota dominicana
Images copyright by Mark A. Chappell
I have seen this circumpolar species on three continents: Australia, Antarctica, and southern South America, where I took most of these photos. It is a typical large gull, with a dark back, white underside, and yellow bill with a red spot. With one exception, these adults were photographed near Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas, both coastal towns in southern Chile, and in Valdivia, about 1000 km to the north. The pair of kelp gulls at upper right were in a small estuary in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
