Which British wildlife comeback story most deserves a national cheer?

Once extinct in Britain, beavers are now transforming rivers from Devon to the Cairngorms, reducing flooding and boosting biodiversity. Their return marks one of the boldest rewilding wins in living memory.

Reintroduced to Scotland decades ago and now soaring above southern England again, these barn-door-winged raptors are a genuine spectacle. Sightings still stop walkers in their tracks.

Once persecuted to near-oblivion, pine martens are spreading through Wales and northern England, and even helping red squirrels by preying on greys. A quiet, cat-sized triumph.

Reintroduced through painstaking work involving specific ants and grazing regimes, the large blue is back on Somerset and Gloucestershire meadows. A conservation miracle in wing form.

Down to just 11 booming males in 1997, bitterns now number in the hundreds thanks to wetland restoration at places like Ham Wall and Minsmere. Hear that foghorn call and you'll understand.