The Lake and Palm House Pond One pair of Great Crested Grebes usually nests on each water body, typically with more success at the Lake, where there is better shelter. In winter the captive Shovelers and Mandarins at the Lake are augmented by wild birds which can be hard to discern unless they arrive in some numbers. Wild Shovelers and Tufted Ducks also visit the Pond. The Lake is scenically attractive and pleasant to visit at all times of year. River Thames Herons are resident and nests can be seen in late winter at the edge of Syon Park, if you look just downriver from Syon Vista.
Cormorants occur all year round though are scarce in summer.
The open skies around Syon Vista offer a chance of flight views of Kestrel, Sparrowhawk or Ring-necked Parakeet. In winter gulls are common, especially at low tide, a few Great Crested and Little Grebes are present and a flock of 25 or more Teal lives around Brentford Ait. This includes all species recorded between 1978 and 1992 and follows the Voous sequence used by the British Ornithologists' Union. Records of scarcer species are included only if they have been published in the London Bird Report produced by the London Natural History Society.