This page is for anyone who hunts in Manche and finds a ring on a pheasant or partridge: where to report it, who validates it, and what is known about the department. The page is also meant for the ACCAs, France's approved communal hunting associations, and for the Manche hunters' federation (FDC 50): it shows what is published and what never is. On the administrative map, department 50 belongs to the Normandy region; its prefecture is Saint-Lô.
The federation and RingFollow
The Manche hunters' federation (FDC 50) does not use RingFollow at present. Reporting remains possible and useful: the recovery is recorded, then reviewed by a federation; GIBIS plays no part in the validation. 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 50.
Reporting a ring found in Manche
- Start with a sharp photo of the ring: the number is read automatically, and you check it.
- Enter the municipality, Saint-Lô or any other in the department; no municipality is ever shown publicly.
- State the species, pheasant or red-legged partridge for example, and if you know them, the sex and circumstances of the recovery.
- Send the report; name, phone and e-mail are optional, but an e-mail address gets you an acknowledgement.
What next?
Once sent, the report is kept; if you left an e-mail address, an acknowledgement follows. 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 Without a match, the report stays on file for Manche, unpublished, until a federation can validate it. No hunter, ACCA or municipality is ever named: only totals per department and points rounded to about 1 km.
Key facts about Manche
According to CORINE Land Cover, agricultural areas covered 90% of the department in 2018, artificial surfaces 5%. The rest is shared between forests and semi-natural areas (5%) and wetlands (1%). INSEE counts 445 municipalities and 497,522 inhabitants (2022 population count) over about 6,010 km². With the share of agricultural areas at 90%, the department is in the top five of the 96 departments of metropolitan France. Its arrondissements are administered from Saint-Lô (prefecture), Avranches, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin and Coutances.
Sources: INSEE (official geographic code 2025, 2022 population counts), OFB / EEA (CORINE Land Cover 2018), geo.api.gouv.fr (areas).
Manche and its neighbours
Four departments border it: Calvados to the east, Orne to the south-east, Ille-et-Vilaine to the south and Mayenne to the south-east. Beyond the regional boundary lie the regions of Brittany and Pays de la Loire. Among its neighbours, the share of agricultural areas ranges from 83% (Orne) to 90% (Mayenne), against 90% here (CORINE Land Cover 2018). No federation registered on RingFollow lies within 400 km; all of them are listed on the Federations page.
The Normandy region and RingFollow
Besides Manche, the Normandy region comprises Eure, Calvados, Orne and Seine-Maritime. None of the five departments in the region has a federation tracking its rings on RingFollow at present (see the Federations page). The share of forests and semi-natural areas (5%) is lower here than in any other department of the Normandy region.
RingFollow figures for Manche
- The count of validated recoveries in Manche still stands at zero.
- The validation queue for Manche is empty.
- Nationwide, RingFollow records 85 ringed releases (3,592 birds) and 16 validated recoveries, across 5 participating federations.
What a reported ring is for
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 Manche.
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.
Your questions about Manche
Why are there no statistics for Manche?
A department's statistics are only published if its federation tracks its rings on RingFollow and at least 3 releases are recorded there. The Manche hunters' federation (FDC 50) does not use RingFollow at present.
How do I report a ringed partridge taken in Manche?
Just as for a pheasant: photo of the ring, number checked, species “red-legged partridge” or “grey partridge”, and the municipality. Nothing differs in Manche.
Will my name appear on the Manche page?
No. Public pages only show totals per department, never a count below 3; no hunter, ACCA or municipality is ever named.
Who validates a recovery reported in Manche?
A hunters' federation: the one for the department where the bird was originally released, if it is registered on RingFollow. The Manche hunters' federation (FDC 50) does not use RingFollow at present, and GIBIS never validates.
What if the ring number is illegible?
Take several well-lit photos from different angles, then correct the suggested number if needed. The photos stay attached to the report for the validating federation.
A federation that would like to track its rings
Hunter or ACCA official in Manche? 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).