stephenmatthews's Journal

With its sheltered bays and creek, the island of Po Toi attracts various kingfishers. Two Common Kingfishers were present at the 'creek' today, even if it was reduced to more of a muddy puddle. The creek is one of the few places in Hong Kong where Ruddy Kingfishers are occasionally seen on passage.
A surprise was in store today for visiting UK birder Nick Brown, who had not even got off the ferry when he spotted a kingfisher which did not look at all like the British one. He soon identified it as a Collared Kingfisher, causing quite a stir among local birders who were able to view it from the ferry pier and even from the departing ferry.
The Collared Kingfisher is a common species in its core range, as in Malaysia and Singapore, but a rare vagrant in Hong Kong: David Diskin's authoritative database lists only five previous records between 1990 and 2019. It also occurs as a vagrant in Taiwan and the Ryukyus, presumably arriving from the Philippines.