Agreed, the gull is too overexposed. That said a white bird, directly illuminated by the sun, against a comparatively dark background is always going to be a bit of a tricky one.
According to the EXIF data it would appear that you used the "Landscape" exposure mode when taking this picture. While my understanding of how the various "scene modes" affect the exposure is limited, I believe it's highly likely that the use of "Landscape" would have prioritised the exposure for typical landscape tones, thus over exposing the gull.
First thing I'd suggest is to leave the scene modes alone, and try to use one of the traditional modes such as M, Av, Tv or P. If you're not overly comfortable with controlling shutter speed and/or aperture, and are unsure as to the effect they will have, then try P mode first, but make sure you read up on the other modes. Understanding the manual and semi automatic modes and knowing how to apply them in particular scenes will help you no end.