This page is for anyone who hunts in Vaucluse and finds a ring on a pheasant or partridge: where to report it, who validates it, and what is known about the department. RingFollow never publishes the name of a hunter, an ACCA (approved communal hunting association) or a municipality, nor any count below 3. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, which has six departments, the department is administered from Avignon.
The federation and RingFollow
The Vaucluse hunters' federation (FDC 84) 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. 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 Vaucluse.
From photo to report
- Photograph the ring, on the leg or once removed; if the number runs all the way round, take several shots.
- Enter the municipality, Avignon or any other in the department; no municipality is ever shown publicly.
- State the species, grey partridge or red-legged partridge 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.
Why report a recovery
ACCAs and federations fund releases; rings are the only way to know what they yield in the field. Consolidated figures are public on the Statistics page, by department.
Recoveries and reports in Vaucluse
- So far, RingFollow has no validated recovery taken in Vaucluse.
- The validation queue for Vaucluse 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.
The department at a glance
Land cover in 2018 (CORINE Land Cover): agricultural areas lead with 53%, followed by forests and semi-natural areas (39%). The rest is shared between artificial surfaces (8%) and water bodies (1%). About 3,580 km², 151 municipalities and 572,056 inhabitants in 2022: those are the orders of magnitude. The share of agricultural areas (53%) is higher here than in any of its six neighbours. Besides Avignon, the prefecture, the department has two sub-prefectures: Apt and Carpentras.
Sources: INSEE (official geographic code 2025, 2022 population counts), OFB / EEA (CORINE Land Cover 2018), geo.api.gouv.fr (areas).
Across the borders
Its neighbours are Var to the south-east, Gard to the west, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence to the east, Ardèche to the north-west, Bouches-du-Rhône to the south and Drôme to the north. Beyond the regional boundary lie the regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Occitania. Among its neighbours, the share of agricultural areas ranges from 19% (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) to 40% (Drôme), against 53% here (CORINE Land Cover 2018). None of these neighbours tracks its rings on RingFollow; the nearest registered federation is in Isère, about 145 km to the north (centre to centre). Next come Haute-Loire (about 165 km) and Ain (about 235 km).
Further reading
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 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region and RingFollow
The other departments of the region are Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Var, Hautes-Alpes, Bouches-du-Rhône and Alpes-Maritimes. None of the six departments in the region has a federation tracking its rings on RingFollow at present (see the regional overview).
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. If no release matches, the report is kept under department 84 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.
Frequently asked questions
Can I report a ring without a mobile signal in Vaucluse?
Yes. The form keeps the report on the phone and sends it as soon as coverage returns, wherever you are in Vaucluse.
How do I recognise a Gibis ring found in Vaucluse?
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 Vaucluse?
A hunters' federation: the one for the department where the bird was originally released, if it is registered on RingFollow. The Vaucluse hunters' federation (FDC 84) does not use RingFollow at present, and GIBIS never validates.
How long is a report from Vaucluse 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 Isère, about 145 km away between department centres.
Registering a federation
A registered federation validates the recoveries in its own department and can export its data. Full list: Federations; contact: gibis@gibis.fr.
To get an idea of a department page with its statistics, see the sample page (simulated data).