They spy

People gather April 20 at the shore in Holmes Beach near 53rd Street to observe manatees in the sun-warmed shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Holmes Beach resident and photographer Deborah Trotter said the Holmes Beach code enforcement department responded, “doing a great job keeping uneducated tourists and onlookers 20 feet away from” the manatees. Islander Photos: Courtesy Deborah Trotter

Manatees in shallow Gulf waters near 53rd Street in Holmes Beach. Photographer Deborah Trotter, a resident at the nearby Martinique, wrote April 20 to The Islander, “Today, approximately 1:45 p.m., 11 manatees came up the beach in the shallow water. They stopped here for about 20 minutes to mate.” She added, “What an amazing and beautiful place we live in.”