SetterGuy must have the same kind of YP I have. They ignore the branches. I have put all types of branches in all sides of the pond and in different depths. I may get a random egg strand on a branch but most are laid in the oak leaves in the shallows, very shallow looking just like SG's picture above. It always is on the South or SE side first. The date changes by a few days depending on factors I can't figure out. It may be photoperiod but it seems it is more like a combination of temperature, weather and other things tood.
I went around the pond yesterday and no ribbons yet. Like SG, I have less and less YP total (they are getting old), less ribbons, less successful fertilization. But the few large adult GSH I have left may be part of the issue. We'll see if our Pekin ducks will ignore the YP eggs or vacuum them up as fast as they can. They vacuum everything else out of the shallows leaving beautiful beach sand behind. Their favorite 'adaptation' is to become diving ducks now (google says they can't dive but ours have become experts at underwater foraging). They are seeking out my bumper crop of trapdoor snails and pop up with them. They must be a delicacy with the effort they put in to find and eat them (and squabble with each other over who gets to eat them).
I agree with Setterguy that it might just be time to restock and keep feeding them.
