A bird taken in Hautes-Pyrénées carries a coloured, numbered ring? That number is enough to trace it back to its release, whether you hunt near Tarbes or in any of the department's 469 municipalities. 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 Tarbes.
Who validates recoveries in Hautes-Pyrénées?
For department 65, no federation uses RingFollow at present. A ring found in Hautes-Pyrénées 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 65.
Reporting in four steps
- Start with a sharp photo of the ring: the number is read automatically, and you check it.
- Choose the municipality where the bird was taken, from the 469 in Hautes-Pyrénées: it locates the recovery but is never published.
- State the species, grey partridge or hare for example, and if you know them, the sex and circumstances of the recovery.
- Send it. For 24 hours you can still remove or add a photo.
The regional picture
The other departments of the region are Gard, Aude, Pyrénées-Orientales, Lot, Lozère, Ariège, Aveyron, Gers, Haute-Garonne, Tarn, Hérault and Tarn-et-Garonne. None of the 13 departments in the region has a federation tracking its rings on RingFollow at present (see the list by region).
Recoveries and reports in Hautes-Pyrénées
- So far, RingFollow has no validated recovery taken in Hautes-Pyrénées.
- 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.
Key facts about Hautes-Pyrénées
Land cover in 2018 (CORINE Land Cover): forests and semi-natural areas lead with 61%, followed by agricultural areas (35%). The rest is mostly artificial surfaces (4%). With 231,349 inhabitants (INSEE, 2022 population count) on about 4,520 km², the density is roughly 51 inhabitants per km²; the department has 469 municipalities. The share of agricultural areas (35%) is lower here than in any of its three neighbours. Besides Tarbes, the prefecture, the department has two sub-prefectures: Argelès-Gazost and Bagnères-de-Bigorre.
Sources: INSEE (official geographic code 2025, 2022 population counts), OFB / EEA (CORINE Land Cover 2018), geo.api.gouv.fr (areas).
Across the borders
Three departments border it: Gers to the north, Pyrénées-Atlantiques to the west and Haute-Garonne to the east. Beyond the regional boundary lies the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Among its neighbours, the share of forests and semi-natural areas ranges from 9% (Gers) to 45% (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), against 61% here (CORINE Land Cover 2018). None of these neighbours tracks its rings on RingFollow; the nearest registered federation is in Haute-Loire, about 370 km to the north-east (centre to centre).
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 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 Hautes-Pyrénées.
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. If no release matches, the report is kept under department 65 and stays out of the public totals. The public only sees totals per department; points on the national map are rounded to about 1 km.
Game-bird rings: common questions
How do I recognise a Gibis ring found in Hautes-Pyrénées?
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.
Does GIBIS validate reports from Hautes-Pyrénées?
No, never. Recoveries are validated by the federation of the department where the bird was released, if it is registered on RingFollow.
How long is a report from Hautes-Pyrénées kept?
Five hunting seasons, the duration of the restocking study. After that it is kept only in anonymised form, without contact details or licence number.
Which neighbouring departments track their rings on RingFollow?
None of its direct neighbours. The nearest registered federation is in Haute-Loire, about 370 km away between department centres.
How do I report a ringed partridge taken in Hautes-Pyrénées?
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-Pyrénées.
For federations
Hunter or ACCA official in Hautes-Pyrénées? 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).