A ringed partridge or pheasant recovered in Gard only tells its story if the ring number is reported, and that takes a minute. Reports are useful to the ACCAs (approved communal hunting associations) and federations that organise releases; the public only ever sees totals per department. Part of the Occitania region, which has 13 departments, the department is administered from Nîmes.
Who validates recoveries in Gard?
The Gard hunters' federation (FDC 30) does not use RingFollow at present. A ring found in Gard can still be reported: the report is recorded, and it will be validated by a federation, never by GIBIS. 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 30.
Reporting a ring found in Gard
- Photograph the ring, on the leg or once removed; if the number runs all the way round, take several shots.
- Say where the bird was taken: the municipality is used for validation and never appears in public.
- 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.
Neighbouring departments
Six departments border it: Lozère to the north-west, Vaucluse to the east, Aveyron to the west, Ardèche to the north, Hérault to the south-west and Bouches-du-Rhône to the south-east. Beyond the regional boundary lie the regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Among its neighbours, the share of forests and semi-natural areas ranges from 36% (Bouches-du-Rhône) to 73% (Lozère), against 51% here (CORINE Land Cover 2018). None of these neighbours tracks its rings on RingFollow; the nearest registered federation is in Haute-Loire, about 130 km to the north (centre to centre). Next come Isère (about 180 km) and Ain (about 250 km).
From report to validation
The report is recorded as soon as it arrives, with the photo and the municipality given. Next comes the matching: does the ring belong to a recorded release? If so, and if that department's federation is registered, it reviews the recovery. Without a match, the report stays on file for Gard, unpublished, until a federation can validate it. Reports are kept for five hunting seasons after the recovery, then retained only in anonymised form for statistics (see the privacy policy).
Within the Occitania region
The other departments of the region are Lozère, Gers, Ariège, Tarn-et-Garonne, Aude, Pyrénées-Orientales, Aveyron, Lot, Hautes-Pyrénées, Tarn, Haute-Garonne and Hérault. None of the 13 departments in the region has a federation tracking its rings on RingFollow at present (see the list by region).
Why report a recovery
Every recovery reported gives a date, a distance and a species. Added together, they give an operation's recovery rate and how far the birds disperse after release: enough to adjust future releases in Gard.
Recoveries and reports in Gard
- No validated recovery has been located in Gard on RingFollow so far.
- No report linked to the department is awaiting validation.
- For comparison, all of France: 3,592 ringed birds in 85 releases and 16 validated recoveries (5 participating federations); details on the Statistics page.
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.
Key facts about Gard
Land cover in 2018 (CORINE Land Cover): forests and semi-natural areas lead with 51%, followed by agricultural areas (38%). The rest is shared between artificial surfaces (7%), wetlands (2%) and water bodies (1%). INSEE counts 350 municipalities and 770,940 inhabitants (2022 population count) over about 5,880 km². At 350, the number of municipalities here is the highest among the department and its six neighbours. Besides Nîmes, the prefecture, the department has two sub-prefectures: Alès and Le Vigan.
Sources: INSEE (official geographic code 2025, 2022 population counts), OFB / EEA (CORINE Land Cover 2018), geo.api.gouv.fr (areas).
Game-bird rings: common questions
Can I report a ring without a mobile signal in Gard?
Yes. The form keeps the report on the phone and sends it as soon as coverage returns, wherever you are in Gard.
Which neighbouring departments track their rings on RingFollow?
None of its direct neighbours. The nearest registered federation is in Haute-Loire, about 130 km away between department centres.
Do I have to give my name to report a ring in Gard?
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.
How do I recognise a Gibis ring found in Gard?
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.
Who validates a recovery reported in Gard?
A hunters' federation: the one for the department where the bird was originally released, if it is registered on RingFollow. The Gard hunters' federation (FDC 30) does not use RingFollow at present, and GIBIS never validates.
For federations
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.
Few figures for Gard so far? See what a well-filled department page looks like (example with simulated data).