This page is for anyone who hunts in Haute-Marne 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 Haute-Marne hunters' federation (FDC 52): it shows what is published and what never is. On the administrative map, department 52 belongs to the Grand Est region; its prefecture is Chaumont.
Who validates recoveries in Haute-Marne?
The Haute-Marne hunters' federation (FDC 52) is not among the federations registered on RingFollow. Reporting remains possible and useful: the recovery is recorded, then reviewed by a federation; GIBIS plays no part in the validation. 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 Haute-Marne.
Reporting a ring found in Haute-Marne
- 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.
- Pick the species from the list (pheasant, red-legged partridge, grey partridge and hare); sex and circumstances are optional.
- Send: with no signal, the report goes out on its own as soon as coverage returns.
Further reading
The ringed birds tracked here come from the GIBIS game farm in Chatte (Isère). For the pheasant strain, see PUR CHASSE® pheasants; for restocking in general, restocking game birds.
What the rings say in Haute-Marne
- So far, RingFollow has no validated recovery taken in Haute-Marne.
- No report linked to the department is awaiting validation.
- Nationwide, RingFollow records 85 ringed releases (3,592 birds) and 16 validated recoveries, across 5 participating federations.
The Grand Est region and RingFollow
Besides Haute-Marne, the Grand Est region comprises Marne, Haut-Rhin, Meuse, Ardennes, Aube, Moselle, Bas-Rhin, Vosges and Meurthe-et-Moselle. None of the ten departments in the region has a federation tracking its rings on RingFollow at present (see the list by region). Population density (about 27 inhabitants per km²) is lower here than in any other department of the Grand Est region.
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 Haute-Marne as elsewhere. For an example, see the review of the 2025 pheasant-poult operation (Infochasse mag' no. 72, in French).
The department at a glance
According to CORINE Land Cover, agricultural areas covered 57% of the department in 2018, forests and semi-natural areas 40%. The rest is mostly artificial surfaces (3%). INSEE counts 426 municipalities and 168,331 inhabitants (2022 population count) over about 6,250 km². The number of municipalities (426) is lower here than in any of its six neighbours. Its arrondissements are administered from Chaumont (prefecture), Langres and Saint-Dizier.
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. If no release matches, the report is kept under department 52 and stays out of the public totals. Reports are kept for five hunting seasons after the recovery, then retained only in anonymised form for statistics (see the privacy policy).
Across the borders
Six departments border it: Vosges to the east, Haute-Saône to the south-east, Meuse to the north, Marne to the north-west, Aube to the west and Côte-d'Or 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 44% (Vosges) to 74% (Marne), against 57% here (CORINE Land Cover 2018). None of these neighbours tracks its rings on RingFollow; the nearest registered federation is in Ain, about 225 km to the south (centre to centre). Next come Isère (about 320 km) and Haute-Loire (about 350 km).
Your questions about Haute-Marne
Where do I report a pheasant ring found in Haute-Marne?
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.
Should a ring engraved with an address, found in Haute-Marne, 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.
Which neighbouring departments track their rings on RingFollow?
None of its direct neighbours. The nearest registered federation is in Ain, about 225 km away between department centres.
Does GIBIS validate reports from Haute-Marne?
No, never. Recoveries are validated by the federation of the department where the bird was released, if it is registered on RingFollow.
Will my name appear on the Haute-Marne page?
No. Public pages only show totals per department, never a count below 3; no hunter, ACCA or municipality is ever named.
For federations
A registered federation validates the recoveries in its own department and can export its data. Full list: Federations; contact: gibis@gibis.fr.
Few figures for Haute-Marne so far? See what a well-filled department page looks like (example with simulated data).