Reston Town Center’s falcons have their own live webcam now

(Updated at 2:20 p.m.) Reston Town Center's family of falcons are officially live in more ways than one.

Town center owner BXP — formerly known as Boston Properties — announced yesterday (Thursday) that a webcam similar to the Giant Panda cam at the National Zoo in D.C. has been installed to keep an eye on the area's resident peregrine falcons.

This year, the mother falcon laid three eggs on the rooftop of a building in the town center and had three female babies. The neighborhood has been home to falcons ever since a pair of chicks were found on Market Street in 2015.

"Reston Town Center is committed to supporting the conservation of declining populations by providing a thriving ecosystem and habitat for survival," BXP said.

Peregrine falcons were on the decline due to the impacts of DDT, a pesticide that was widely used in agriculture until it was banned in the 1970s.

(Correction: This article initially said peregrine falcons are currently declining. The species has started to recover since DDT was banned, getting taken off the endangered species list in 1999.)

Identification bands are placed on the falcons in the town center.

The falcons have attracted local attention — including an attempt by Reston Now readers to name them "Free" and "Parking" in reference to opposition against paid parking at RTC in 2017. They are then named Robert and Anne after Reston's founder Bob Simon and Lake Anne.

A spokesperson for BXP didn't return a request for comment from FFXnow by press time.