Just Wilde about Grumpy Crestie

Wildlife photographer and Bryanston resident Lynne Steyn Wilde has welcomed a cheeky visitor to her backyard amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

A little bird she named Grumpy Crestie, has lit up the pages of social media through photos Wilde has documented during the lockdown. “Grumpy Crestie is a crested barbet and they occur in most suburban gardens especially in Joburg. I was taking photographs of him one day and I had a look at the photo and I thought to myself, ‘This little oke has got so much character’ the first post was on the I love Bryanston page on Facebook,” she said.

With each photograph, Wilde posts a humorous yet topical caption to go with it.

“He just looked amazing and all the reactions were positive and that’s how it started. I did see people were commenting and saying that they were enjoying the posts, so I kept on and he now has his own Instagram page.”

A bush fanatic and nature lover, Wilde said Grumpy Crestie’s fame had spread far and wide.”Every now and again I do give a little information about him just to try and get people, especially during the lockdown, to start watching birds and just see how fascinating they can be.”

Grumpy Crestie is full of personality and oh so cheeky.” He sits and puffs himself up and likes to think of himself as a boss. On this particular territory, he also loves scaring off other birds especially because of the female bird of the nest, Lady Chatterly.”

Having already published a coffee table bird book, Wilde would like to continue Grumpy Crestie’s story in another photo book aimed at children. Follow Grumpy Crestie on Instagram @grumpycrestie.