Brown hares can be seen all year round, although autumn is a fascinating time to watch them, as the cooler months encourage them to forage actively before winter. Dawn to dusk is their main feeding window and hence best time to spot them. Though the famous ‘boxing’ displays are mostly seen in spring, autumn still offers plenty of opportunity to observe their agility and alert behaviour for predators. Predators include foxes and stoats, as well as raptors such as buzzards and barn owls. 

They are most commonly spotted on open farmland, grassland habitats and woodland edges. They favour a mosaic of arable fields, grasses, and hedgerows, where they graze on vegetation and the bark of young trees and bushes. In Hampshire, hares favour chalk download habitat, including Broughton Down Nature Reserve.

Unlike rabbits, hares do not burrow; instead, they rest in shallow depressions in the grass called ‘forms’. When disturbed, these powerful mammals bound across the fields, their long hind legs propelling them in swift, zigzag patterns that make them a thrilling sight.

Adult brown hares are golden-brown with pale bellies and distinctive white tails. They are larger than rabbits, with longer legs and ears that end in striking black tips. With an average length of 50–70cm and weighing between 2–5kg, they live for around 2–4 years, producing three to four litters a year, each with two to four leverets.

The brown hare is not strictly native to the UK, as it was most likely introduced by the Romans, but it is now considered a naturalised species. Once numbering several million, today the UK population is thought to number around 800,000, making sightings all the more special. Protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and listed as a Priority Species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, the brown hare remains a treasured part of our rural landscapes.