The course of the year in Jægersborg Dyrehave

Spring

March

Dyrehaven’s puddles in the deciduous forests and on the plains are swarming with fairy shrimps at this time of year. These are several-centimetre-long crustaceans, so-called branchiopods, which are related to water fleas and are relatively rare in Denmark. Dyrehavsbakken amusement park opens on the last Thursday in March, and according to tradition a cortège of around 4,000 motorcycles drive from Nørrebro in Copenhagen up Strandvejen to Klampenborg to celebrate the opening.

April

The noctule bats emerge from their winter hibernation. There is a large number of bats in Dyrehaven due to the many old hollow trees. Blooming and leafing time – first the beech comes into leaf, then the oak.

May

This is when the results of the rut show: about 700 fawns are born and hide in the tall grass for the first days of their lives until they can follow the flock of females that graze with their offspring. Flock sizes can vary from only a handful of animals to hundreds of fallow deer in one flock on Eremitagesletten. The male red deer (stags) keep to themselves until the rutting period begins again. The hawthorn blossoms.

Summer

June

Every three years, the Royal Danish Theatre arranges a large open-air performance in Ulvedalene. In 2013 there were performances of "Robin Hood". On the first Saturday in June it is tradition that people bring their picnic basket, dress in white and hold a white picnic near the flowering hawthorn bushes at Hvidtjørnesletten inside the Springforbiporten gate.

July and August

The deer’s new antlers have grown out, and they “fray” them against the bark of the trees to remove the skin that has protected the antlers during growth.

Autumn

September

The rutting season for red deer begins, and the stags fight ferocious battles and the strongest stag drives out the weakest and lures the hinds to mate. This is also the time when regulation of the entire deer population begins by culling 700 head of game up to the end of January. Dyrehavsbakken amusement park closes for the winter on about 1 September. The closing is marked by a cortège of 4,000 motorcycles driving from Nørrebro in Copenhagen to the amusement park.

October

The fallow deer are in rut and the largest and strongest deer meet to fight on a common mating place south-west of Eremitageslot (Hermitage Palace), where the females - the does - select their mate. Enjoy the drama from afar. Dyrehaven is characterised by many different deciduous trees that light up in the most wonderful yellow, orange and red colours before their leaves fall off. On the first Sunday in October, the traditional Eremitage Run with more than 21,000 participants takes place. During the autumn holidays kite flyers gather in front of Eremitageslot to fly kites.

November

On the first Sunday in November, Dyrehaven is full of magnificent and riders in red jackets and white jodhpurs, when Sportsrideklubben ends the season with the annual Hubertus Hunt. The almost 150 horses and riders warm up to hunting horns in the fenced-in area across from Peter Lieps Hus, and almost 40,000 spectators stand along on the route, not least at Magasindammen. The finish is at Eremitageslot. Hubertus hunt is an old tradition, and Sportrideklubben's hunt in Dyrehaven has been held since 1900. The deer is fed every day from November to the end of April at a number of feeding grounds in Dyrehaven.

Winter

December and January

If the weather allows, Dyrehaven is a wonderful playground for winter sports enthusiasts to go cross-country skiing, sledge down the famous Djævlebakke in Ulvedalene or skate on Kildesøen. A brand new initiative is to establish tracks for cross-country skiing when there is enough snow.

February

The deer begin to lose their antlers so new and bigger ones can grow during the spring. In this period, they use their forelegs to fight, so they look like they are boxing. The woodpeckers mark their territory by pecking on the bark of the trees.