Following the publication of Bill Bourne's letter on the subject (Brit. Birds 96: 260), I would like to clarify some points regarding the development of a military radar station in Madeira. The Sociedade Portuguesa para o Estudo das Aves (SPEA), together with BirdLife International, instigated a campaign in December 2002 concerning the location of a radar station near the breeding grounds of Zino's Petrel Pterodroma madeira, the most threatened bird in Europe. From the very early stages of the proposed development, SPEA asked the Portuguese Government for a full and appropriate assessment to be conducted, which could take account of the requirements and conservation objectives of the EU's Birds Directive. The proposed site is designated as a Special Protection Area (SPA), and therefore has the highest level of protection under European law. The decision to launch this campaign was related to two main issues. First, the possible (and as yet unknown) impact on the petrels during the construction and operation of the radar. Arguments which suggest that the radar station will have little impact once it is in operation are not backed by conclusive research, while construction on the site originally chosen (see below) would have adversely affected the landscape and quite possibly the Zino's Petrel population unless appropriate measures to minimise disturbance were implemented. For example, the breeding season of Zino's Petrel runs from March to December, making it virtually impossible to carry out construction work during the non-breeding season. Secondly, the lack of transparency by the Portuguese Government