The eggs now are covered. They are protected from direct sunlight and strong current. For the next four weeks or so, the eggs are very fragile. The slightest bumping of the redd can destroy them. By mid-autumn, the eggs begin to develop.
Eyes begin to form.
And somewhere among these closely-packed lives in the redd lies Onco. Onco the Lucky. Onco is fortunate that the water temperature is only 55 degrees Fahrenheit. That's within a few degrees, up or down, of what her system can handle. She's lucky, too, that there is no sudden torrent of water in the creek.