January has begun. With the turning of the new calendar year Alabama's snowbird season officially opens all along our Dauphin Island beaches.
Snowbirds are winter season vacationers to the Alabama Gulf Coast, retirees from cooler northern states like Michigan and Wisconsin. They come to vacation on the Dauphin Island beaches during the cold winter months of January and February and March.
Estimates vary, but Alabama tourism officials estimate there will be a record number of snowbirds visiting Alabama's Gulf Coast this winter 2007. In all they estimate over 16,000 snowbirds will descend on our beach communities this year. All along the Alabama Gulf Coast, campgrounds and condos are filling up. Many are already fully rented for the entire winter season.