Fairhope, Alabama

The beautiful city of Fairhope Alabama sits on a sloping plateau amidst the shoreline of Mobile Bay. Population is around 14,000. You aren't likely to find a more pleasant place to visit or live.

Fairhope regularly shows up on "Best Places to Live or Retire" lists, among those are Money Magazine and U.S. News and World Report.

Fairhope was first settled sometime around November of 1894, where Alabama City used to be. The Fairhope Industrial Association founded the town as a Utopian colony espousing single taxation. The colony's principal founder was social philosopher Henry George. He had twenty-eight followers, the basis of the city's original citizens.

Their goals were to establish and conduct a model colony which was to be free from all kinds of private monopoly and where they could secure city members equal opportunity, as well as rewards for individual efforts. The first citizens of Fairhope Alabama pooled money to purchase some land, including Stapleton's Pasture, located on the eastern edge of Mobile Bay. The city fathers divided the land into long-term leaseholds. Rent paid all government taxes and this simulated a single tax.

A corporation called Fairhope Single-Tax is still in operation. It has 1,800 leaseholds, spread out over 4,000 acres both around and in Fairhope, Alabama. In the 1910 version of "The Landlord's Game," a precursor of "Monopoly," Fairhope Avenue was included.

In 1907, educator Marietta Johnson founded a school called Organic Education in Fairhope. John Dewey praised the school in his 1915 book Schools of Tomorrow. Both Johnson and Dewey founded an association called Progressive Education. Other noted intellectuals regularly wintered in the city, and it was a magnet for artists and writers. The esteemed writer Upton Sinclair often visited the city.

Over time, the city has moved from a Utopian experiment to an intellectual's and artist's colony, and then on to an affluent suburb and boutique haven.

Residents and tourists have witnessed the jubilee phenomenon for over fifty years. A variety of aquatic animals, which include flounder, blue crabs, eels, catfish and stingrays move to very shallow water. The timing of jubilees are unpredictable, but they occur during the summer months, usually just before dawn. If you are lucky enough to be in Fairhope during a jubilee, grab a net and you will certainly catch dinner. The phenomenon is thought to be caused by a lack of oxygen in the water due to decaying vegetation.

Weeks Bay National Estuarine Reserve boasts a wide variety of wildlife and plant species in a swamp forest. There is an elevated walkway, so the visitor can walk easily through the wetlands. This is one of the few places that you can see a pitcher plant bog in the wild. These plants are carnivorous, but don't worry-- they only eat insects. Early spring is the time to see the pitcher plants in bloom, but other plants are in bloom all the way into late fall. Pitcher plants create an ecosystem that can not be found anywhere else on Earth.

If you are visiting in March, you might be in town during the Annual Arts & Crafts Festival. In 2011, it is scheduled for March 18, 19 & 20. More than 200 artists and craftsmen bring some of their work to be purchased or just enjoyed. Live entertainment is also a highlight of the festival. If you are anywhere within driving distance of Fairhope Alabama and enjoy events of this nature, this is one you will want to attend.

Red Tide in Gulf Shores, Alabama

Red tide is a natural phenomenon that occurs when temperature, salinity, and nutrients reach a certain level, resulting in a higher than normal concentration of a certain type of algae (Karenia brevis). The exact formula is unknown, but it is known to occur when the temperature is high and rainfall and wind is low.

The outbreak doesn't have to be red in color. It can appear green, brown, or purple. The water might even retain its normal color.

One is most likely to occur in the Gulf Shores, Alabama, area during the summer or early fall.

Unless the surf is rough and pushing salt spray into the air, people enjoying the beach will probably not even know that an outbreak is in their vicinity.

Most beach tourists have never heard of the phenomenon until they experience one, and then they worry whether it is dangerous. Symptoms include sneezing, tearing, coughing, and eye, nose, and throat irritation. Contact with red tide might remind the tourist of the last cold or allergic reaction he experienced. Symptoms usually subside once leaving the affected beach.

Red tide is nothing but a discomfort to otherwise healthy people, but it is inadvisable to "stick it out." If the beach you usually enjoy is affected, find another beach or even move to a protected water. This is especially good advice for those with respiratory conditions like emphysema or asthma.

Particularly bad outbreaks can kill fish, sometimes millions of them. Most of the fish killed are small "bait fish," but sometimes larger fish like hardhead catfish and flounder wash up dead on the beaches. Often it is the dead fish that drive tourists from the beaches. Thousands of dead fish on the beach is unpleasant, at best.

Caution should be exercised walking barefoot around dead, larger fish.

Shorebirds on the Alabama Gulf Coast

Coastal Alabama is a birdwatcher’s paradise. There are tons of different species to spot and catalog. Avid birdwatchers flock to the area because it is home to such a wide variety of avians. Shorebird identification for some of the most common species:


• Great Blue Heron

The great blue heron is nearly four feet long and has a wingspan of about five feet. These wading birds are commonly found on the shoreline of open water. They are the largest of all of the herons found in North America.

The call of the great blue heron is very distinctive. The sound is reminiscent of a gigantic frog croaking. Herons are more vocal when it is breeding season.

For the most part, the great blue heron feeds on small fish, crabs, shrimp, rodents, small mammals and even birds. They usually swallow their food whole and occasionally will choke trying to consume something that is too big.

• Brown Pelican



Pelicans are large water birds that have long, pouched bills. They are good swimmers as they use their strong, little legs and webbed toes to propel themselves through the water. The tail of a Pelican is squared off and short with about two dozen feathers. The wingspan is large and the breast muscles are strong which aid in their ability to glide and soar.

A pelican’s diet is mostly fish but they will eat crustaceans and frogs. Though a rarity, they will occasionally consume small birds. Pelicans will generally search for food in large groups. They will chase schools of fish toward the shore and scoop them up for a quick meal. Pelicans will also catch fish by piercing the fish with their bills. They will then pop it into the air and catch the fish in the air and slide it down into the gullet.

• Killdeer


The killdeer is technically a plover and it is customarily found near the shore. They will also congregate in large, grassy fields such as golf courses and football fields. They eat insects and they stir up the bugs by running around in the grass. Killdeer have the typical characteristics of all plovers. Their bodies are slim and lean with long tail feathers that end in a point. They have round heads with short bills and large eyes. They are tawny colored with a white breast. The breast has two bands of black on it. The face has black and white markings. The rear area of the killdeer is orange in color.

• Oystercatcher

Oystercatchers are wading birds. The feathering is usually solid black or black to brown with a white breast. They have large and long bills that are either red or orange. These birds are noisy. By noisy, I mean incredibly loud and boisterous and they can be very annoying.



The diet of the oystercatcher is shockingly varied. They will eat bugs, worms, oysters, clams, crabs, mussels and fish too. When they’re hungry they certainly have many options for finding dinner.

All oystercatchers are monogamous birds. They are very territorial and will not only defend each other but their nesting site as well. Researchers studied a pair of oystercatchers that stayed together and defended the same nesting area for more than 20 years!