0:00:03 > 0:00:07Kedleston Hall, a stately home in the Derbyshire countryside,
0:00:07 > 0:00:11passed down by generations for centuries.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16But another family has also seen generations reside here -
0:00:16 > 0:00:18the stately stoats.
0:00:25 > 0:00:30It's a crisp February day on the 800-acre Kedleston Estate.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34This is real stoat country, but even so,
0:00:34 > 0:00:39catching a glimpse of one is a rare treat, especially in the winter.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44But just once in a while, you see something really special.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47Ermine is the winter version of the stoat.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51In the spring, the usual brown fur colour will return.
0:00:51 > 0:00:56But for now, a stunning white coat makes this female easy to follow.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01Dry stone walls divide the Kedleston pastures,
0:01:01 > 0:01:03providing good hunting grounds.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07This female has an added incentive for her relentless pursuit.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10It will be the first year that she will have young.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19But she has competition for the winter spoils.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Nearby, an unusual visitor to the estate
0:01:22 > 0:01:25may seem an unlikely hunter
0:01:25 > 0:01:29but this is a great grey shrike, the butcherbird.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46Spring has arrived on the estate
0:01:46 > 0:01:48and the walled garden is a hive of activity.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08Inside this unlikely refuge, one of the stoat families has moved in.
0:02:08 > 0:02:13Year after year, the Kedleston stoats return to the walled garden
0:02:13 > 0:02:15to raise their young.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18Although fruit and vegetables were once grown in here
0:02:18 > 0:02:24for use in the hall, today the garden is in disrepair.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26The piles of bricks and rubble
0:02:26 > 0:02:28provide ready-made dens for the stoats.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35At this time of year, we get a great insight into family life.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37At about eight weeks old,
0:02:37 > 0:02:41young stoats, or kits, have emerged from the den.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43To begin with, they are nervy,
0:02:43 > 0:02:45taking a while to get used to their surroundings.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48But their confidence soon grows.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Whilst the kits are out of the den,
0:02:52 > 0:02:56it's a good opportunity for Mum to have a spring clean.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05The mischievous kits are a handful,
0:03:05 > 0:03:08but games of hide and seek amongst the rubble
0:03:08 > 0:03:10are good practice for hunting.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41The walled garden is now used to breed game birds for the estate.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46The rearing pens are bound to be an attraction for the stoats,
0:03:46 > 0:03:50but there are other, far easier targets - rabbits.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54They also thrive here in the lush walled garden,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57but they are easy prey for the stoats.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04Once a scent trail is found, they never give up.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07They are tenacious hunters.
0:04:20 > 0:04:21When the prey is caught,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25a bite to the back of the neck with razor-sharp teeth
0:04:25 > 0:04:27quickly despatches it.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33With so many mouths to feed, Mum has her work cut out.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36And rabbits are much larger than she is,
0:04:36 > 0:04:40but she is incredibly strong, dragging four times her own weight.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55As summer arrives, the restless stoats have moved home.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01The kits have grown out of the brick pile
0:05:01 > 0:05:05and an abandoned rabbit hole now serves as a more spacious residence.
0:05:05 > 0:05:10Moving home also throws potential predators off the trail.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14Neighbourly foxes and owls are a threat to young kits.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18But regardless of the reasons,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21the fact is it's also a move up the property ladder.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27The new pad even has some decking to lounge around on.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30Although, frankly, it's seen better days.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48As ever, Mum is busy hunting to keep the kits well fed.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52A male blackbird is helpless, trying to save his chicks.
0:05:56 > 0:06:02The returning female doesn't yet know their nest is now empty.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06Residents of the walled garden
0:06:06 > 0:06:09must remain wary of the Kedleston stoats.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32The nomadic stoat family have moved again,
0:06:32 > 0:06:36finally leaving the boundaries of the walled garden
0:06:36 > 0:06:38to venture further afield.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40On this warm summer's day,
0:06:40 > 0:06:45the nearby woodland glade provides somewhere to cool down.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49For the kits, the stream is just another excuse to play.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53These hyperactive bundles of energy just can't stay still.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08But they still have plenty to learn.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12A squirrel is just too big for a half-grown kit to tackle.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Soon enough, the kits will spread out across the estate
0:07:31 > 0:07:33to find their own territories.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38But they will have to be careful when they do.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41The estate's foxes now have youngsters of their own to feed.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57With independence approaching,
0:07:57 > 0:08:02the latest stately stoats look ready for anything.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13As stoats mate at a very young age, the female members of this family
0:08:13 > 0:08:17are probably already carrying the next generation.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25With such a great place to continue to raise their families,
0:08:25 > 0:08:30the future of the Kedleston stoats looks secure.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38Subtitles by Martin Rayner Red Bee Media Ltd - 2007
0:08:38 > 0:08:43E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk