Coloured ring on the leg, number clearly legible: if you have recovered a farm-reared bird in Ain, here is where to report it and what happens to the information. The page is also meant for the ACCAs, France's approved communal hunting associations, and for the Ain hunters' federation (FDC 01): it shows what is published and what never is. On the administrative map, department 01 belongs to the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region; its prefecture is Bourg-en-Bresse.
The federation and RingFollow
The Ain hunters' federation (FDC 01) tracks its rings on RingFollow and appears in the report form as “FDC 01 · Ain”. It reviews and validates every recovery reported here; GIBIS plays no part in it. Public statistics (recovery rate, dispersal of the birds) will appear here once 3 releases have been recorded; below that, a figure could point to a specific area.
Found a ring: what to do
- Photograph the ring, on the leg or once removed; if the number runs all the way round, take several shots.
- Choose the municipality where the bird was taken, from the 391 in Ain: it locates the recovery but is never published.
- If the bird carries a wing tag rather than a leg ring, say so at the same step, together with the species.
- Send: with no signal, the report goes out on its own as soon as coverage returns.
What the rings say in Ain
- The count of validated recoveries in Ain still stands at zero.
- The validation queue for Ain is empty.
- Nationwide, RingFollow records 85 ringed releases (3,592 birds) and 16 validated recoveries, across 5 participating federations.
What happens to the report
The federation receives the report in its own area, where each recovery is reviewed before validation. Once validated, it counts towards the department's figures; until then, it is counted nowhere. These figures remain private until the threshold of 3 releases is passed. No hunter, ACCA or municipality is ever named: only totals per department and points rounded to about 1 km.
Breeding and restocking
RingFollow tracks rings; breeding, species and restocking are covered on gibis.fr: game birds for restocking and red-legged and grey partridges.
The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and RingFollow
The other departments of the region are Allier, Loire, Haute-Savoie, Savoie, Rhône, Ardèche, Drôme, Puy-de-Dôme, Isère, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Three of the 12 departments in the region have their federation on RingFollow: Ain, Isère and Haute-Loire (see the list by region).
Ain in figures
According to CORINE Land Cover, agricultural areas covered 53% of the department in 2018, forests and semi-natural areas 36%. The rest is shared between artificial surfaces (8%) and water bodies (3%). About 5,780 km², 391 municipalities and 679,344 inhabitants in 2022: those are the orders of magnitude. Its arrondissements are administered from Bourg-en-Bresse (prefecture), Belley, Gex and Nantua.
Sources: INSEE (official geographic code 2025, 2022 population counts), OFB / EEA (CORINE Land Cover 2018), geo.api.gouv.fr (areas).
One ring, one data point
ACCAs and federations fund releases; rings are the only way to know what they yield in the field. Consolidated figures are public on the Statistics page, by department.
Across the borders
Six departments border it: Savoie to the south-east, Isère to the south, Haute-Savoie to the east, Jura to the north, Saône-et-Loire to the north-west and Rhône to the south-west. Beyond the regional boundary lies the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Among its neighbours, the share of agricultural areas ranges from 14% (Savoie) to 72% (Saône-et-Loire), against 53% here (CORINE Land Cover 2018). One neighbour already tracks its rings on RingFollow: Isère.
Game-bird rings: common questions
Should a ring engraved with an address, found in Ain, be reported here?
No. RingFollow only covers game-farm rings, which carry no address. Rings from scientific ringing schemes are reported to those schemes; this site's guide tells you more.
How do I report a ringed partridge taken in Ain?
Just as for a pheasant: photo of the ring, number checked, species “red-legged partridge” or “grey partridge”, and the municipality. Nothing differs in Ain.
Why are there no statistics for Ain?
The Ain hunters' federation (FDC 01) is registered, but the department has fewer than 3 recorded releases. Above that, the recovery rate and dispersal will appear here.
Does GIBIS validate reports from Ain?
No. GIBIS provides the tool but never moderates: the Ain hunters' federation (FDC 01) validates recoveries in the department.
Do I have to give my name to report a ring in Ain?
No. Name, phone and e-mail are optional; an e-mail address only gets you an acknowledgement. Only the validating federation sees what you leave.
All federations
The situation of every departmental federation, region by region, is on the Federations page.
To get an idea of a department page with its statistics, see the sample page (simulated data).