Coloured ring on the leg, number clearly legible: if you have recovered a farm-reared bird in Hautes-Alpes, 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 Hautes-Alpes hunters' federation (FDC 05): it shows what is published and what never is. Hautes-Alpes is one of the six departments of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, with Gap as its prefecture.
Ring tracking in Hautes-Alpes
The Hautes-Alpes hunters' federation (FDC 05) does not use RingFollow at present. A ring found in Hautes-Alpes can still be reported: the report is recorded, and it will be validated by a federation, never by GIBIS. If the bird comes from a release in a department whose federation is registered, that federation validates the recovery; otherwise the report stays on file for Hautes-Alpes.
Found a ring: what to do
- Start with a sharp photo of the ring: the number is read automatically, and you check it.
- Enter the municipality, Gap or any other in the department; no municipality is ever shown publicly.
- Pick the species from the list (pheasant, red-legged partridge, hare and grey partridge); sex and circumstances are optional.
- Send the report; name, phone and e-mail are optional, but an e-mail address gets you an acknowledgement.
Recoveries and reports in Hautes-Alpes
- So far, RingFollow has no validated recovery taken in Hautes-Alpes.
- The validation queue for Hautes-Alpes is empty.
- For comparison, all of France: 3,592 ringed birds in 85 releases and 16 validated recoveries (5 participating federations); details on the Statistics page.
The breeding side: gibis.fr
Species, delivery and release planning are a matter for the breeder: see game birds for restocking and red-legged and grey partridges on gibis.fr.
Land and population
Land cover in 2018 (CORINE Land Cover): forests and semi-natural areas lead with 83%, followed by agricultural areas (15%). The rest is mostly artificial surfaces (1%). INSEE counts 162 municipalities and 143,467 inhabitants (2022 population count) over about 5,690 km². With the share of artificial surfaces at 1%, the department is in the bottom five of the 96 departments of metropolitan France. Its arrondissements are administered from Gap (prefecture) and Briançon.
Sources: INSEE (official geographic code 2025, 2022 population counts), OFB / EEA (CORINE Land Cover 2018), geo.api.gouv.fr (areas).
From report to validation
The report is recorded as soon as it arrives, with the photo and the municipality given. The ring number is then matched against known releases; if one took place in a department whose federation is registered, that federation validates the recovery. Without a match, the report stays on file for Hautes-Alpes, unpublished, until a federation can validate it. The public only sees totals per department; points on the national map are rounded to about 1 km.
Across the borders
Four departments border it: Savoie to the north, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence to the south, Isère to the north-west and Drôme to the west. Beyond the regional boundary lies the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Among its neighbours, the share of forests and semi-natural areas ranges from 51% (Isère) to 81% (Savoie), against 83% here (CORINE Land Cover 2018). Of these, Isère tracks its rings on RingFollow.
What a reported ring is for
The recovery rate is the number of validated rings divided by the number of birds released. It only exists if hunters report, in Hautes-Alpes as elsewhere. For an example, see the review of the 2025 pheasant-poult operation (Infochasse mag' no. 72, in French).
The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region and RingFollow
The other departments of the region are Bouches-du-Rhône, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Vaucluse, Alpes-Maritimes and Var. None of the six departments in the region has a federation tracking its rings on RingFollow at present (see the list by region). The population (143,467 inhabitants in 2022) is lower here than in any other department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.
Frequently asked questions
Who validates a recovery reported in Hautes-Alpes?
A hunters' federation: the one for the department where the bird was originally released, if it is registered on RingFollow. The Hautes-Alpes hunters' federation (FDC 05) does not use RingFollow at present, and GIBIS never validates.
Which neighbouring departments track their rings on RingFollow?
Isère. Each has its own page on this site.
How do I report a ringed partridge taken in Hautes-Alpes?
Just as for a pheasant: photo of the ring, number checked, species “red-legged partridge” or “grey partridge”, and the municipality. Nothing differs in Hautes-Alpes.
How do I recognise a Gibis ring found in Hautes-Alpes?
A coloured, numbered leg ring, or a numbered coloured plastic wing tag, with no address. A ring engraved with an address belongs to another scheme: the guide explains where to report it.
Will my name appear on the Hautes-Alpes page?
No. Public pages only show totals per department, never a count below 3; no hunter, ACCA or municipality is ever named.
Registering a federation
Hunter or ACCA official in Hautes-Alpes? You can raise it with your federation. All federations and their situation: Federations.
To get an idea of a department page with its statistics, see the sample page (simulated data).