Coloured ring on the leg, number clearly legible: if you have recovered a farm-reared bird in Cher, here is where to report it and what happens to the information. RingFollow never publishes the name of a hunter, an ACCA (approved communal hunting association) or a municipality, nor any count below 3. On the administrative map, department 18 belongs to the Centre-Val de Loire region; its prefecture is Bourges.
The federation and RingFollow
The Cher hunters' federation (FDC 18) is not among the federations registered on RingFollow. Nothing changes for the hunter: the report is made the same way, and federations, not GIBIS, validate recoveries. The ring number leads back to the original release: if the federation of the department where it took place is registered, it validates; if not, the report waits, filed under department 18.
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 286 in Cher: it locates the recovery but is never published.
- Pick the species from the list (red-legged partridge, pheasant, grey partridge and hare); sex and circumstances are optional.
- Send the report; name, phone and e-mail are optional, but an e-mail address gets you an acknowledgement.
Neighbouring departments
Six departments border it: Creuse to the south, Allier to the south-east, Indre to the south-west, Nièvre to the east, Loir-et-Cher to the north-west and Loiret to the north. Beyond the regional boundary lie the regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Among its neighbours, the share of agricultural areas ranges from 62% (Loir-et-Cher) to 80% (Indre), against 73% here (CORINE Land Cover 2018). The nearest department whose federation tracks its rings on RingFollow is Haute-Loire, about 240 km to the south-east as the crow flies between department centres. Next come Ain (about 245 km) and Isère (about 310 km).
RingFollow figures for Cher
- The count of validated recoveries in Cher still stands at zero.
- The validation queue for Cher 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.
Why report a recovery
The recovery rate is the number of validated rings divided by the number of birds released. It only exists if hunters report, in Cher as elsewhere. For an example, see the review of the 2025 pheasant-poult operation (Infochasse mag' no. 72, in French).
Breeding and restocking
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.
The regional picture
Besides Cher, the Centre-Val de Loire region comprises Indre, Eure-et-Loir, Loiret, Loir-et-Cher and Indre-et-Loire. None of the six departments in the region has a federation tracking its rings on RingFollow at present (see the regional overview).
Key facts about Cher
Land cover in 2018 (CORINE Land Cover): agricultural areas lead with 73%, followed by forests and semi-natural areas (23%). The rest is shared between artificial surfaces (3%) and water bodies (1%). About 7,300 km², 286 municipalities and 298,660 inhabitants in 2022: those are the orders of magnitude. Its arrondissements are administered from Bourges (prefecture), Saint-Amand-Montrond and Vierzon.
Sources: INSEE (official geographic code 2025, 2022 population counts), OFB / EEA (CORINE Land Cover 2018), geo.api.gouv.fr (areas).
What next?
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 Cher, 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.
Game-bird rings: common questions
Should a ring engraved with an address, found in Cher, 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.
Who validates a recovery reported in Cher?
A hunters' federation: the one for the department where the bird was originally released, if it is registered on RingFollow. The Cher hunters' federation (FDC 18) does not use RingFollow at present, and GIBIS never validates.
Where do I report a pheasant ring found in Cher?
On bagues.gibis.fr, from a phone: a photo of the ring, the species and the municipality where the bird was taken are enough. No account is needed.
Do I have to give my name to report a ring in Cher?
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.
Which neighbouring departments track their rings on RingFollow?
None of its direct neighbours. The nearest registered federation is in Haute-Loire, about 240 km away between department centres.
Registering a federation
The situation of every federation is on the Federations page. A federation that would like to track its recoveries can write to gibis@gibis.fr.
To get an idea of a department page with its statistics, see the sample page (simulated data).