These events will be held at many national wildlife refuges, city and state parks, national forests, national parks, National Audubon sanctuaries and other nature reserves. Something as simple as learning the appropriate time and way to apply pesticides to your lawn or garden can make a big difference. Many people are inadvertently poisoning birds by misusing these chemicals or applying them when birds are especially vulnerable, such as when they are nesting. The deaths of 20,000 Swainson's hawks in Argentina last year highlighted the problem of pesticides killing birds. The Service, working with the Argentine government, received a commitment from a major chemical company, Ciba-Geigy, to limit use of the pesticide responsible for the deaths and to expand education and training efforts among Argentine farmers.
Pesticides are still a domestic concern.
In addition, well over 100,000 tons of pesticides no longer permitted to be used in the United States are shipped to developing countries where migratory birds spend the winter. Loss and fragmentation of habitat also is a major reason for the decline of many bird species. For example, the United States has lost more than half its wetlands, nearly all its tallgrass prairie and virgin forest, and 75 percent of its shortgrass prairie. Similar destruction and degradation of native habitat is ongoing in many other countries along migration routes. Last year on International Migratory Bird Day, the Service unveiled a national strategy to better conserve bird habitat by coordinating conservation efforts at the local, state, and national levels.