Karen Wils photo A hummingbird checks out a globe thistle.

ESCANABA — A flower opens and magic is in the air.

Roses, poppies and peonies cast colorful spells in the garden. Wildflowers of many types perfume the gentle breezes.

A miniature, magical miracle floats in on a sunbeam. Is it real? We blink our eyes and shake our heads.

But there it is again, shining like an ornament and darting like a butterfly. Its wings are a blur of motion. Its needle-like nose is a nectar straw.

Big dark eyes focus on the red flowers and green iridescent feathers hover over the garden.

It’s not a fairy or a fantasy, but a real, live ruby throated hummingbird. Michigan’s smallest bird is about three inches long and weighs less than a penny.

From the time the apple blossoms open until the gladiolus pop out, the hummingbird is a welcomed guest in everyone’s backyard.

The ruby throated hummingbird is Michigan’s only native humming bird, but in recent years, the Rufous hummingbird of the Pacific Northwest has been spotted in Lower Michigan.

The red Indian paint brush flowers and the wild orange columbine flowers call to the hummingbirds. Photographers and artists of all types are then drawn to these wildflowers with these tiny birds in them.

Nothing is as delicate and dainty as watching the hummingbirds flitting about in search of nectar. They almost hypnotize you with the fast beat of their wings and the soft hum of their feathers.

Tons of people put out special hummingbird feeders filled with sugar and water to entice the birds to stay by the kitchen garden window. These busy little birds also help in the pollination of many plants.

The hummingbirds build their nests out of lichens, plant fibers and spider webs. Into this tiny cup of a nest, they lay two white eggs.

This is our only bird that can fly backwards.

Little in size but big on beauty, hummingbirds are favorite subjects to be painted on shirts, ornaments, wall hangings, and jewelry.

Hummingbirds are easy to attract to your garden by planting red, tubular flowers or by hanging up a red hummingbird feeder. After the super cold winter we had, it’s so awesome to see something so warm and vibrant as a hummingbird. Like a little wisp of magic they add fertility and happiness to our gardens.

It is so hard to imagine that come September this tiny creature will take on the winds and fly to Mexico or Central America for the winter.

So let’s enjoy every minute while the hummingbirds are making magic in our neck of the woods.

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Karen (Rose) Wils is a lifelong north Escanaba resident. Her folksy columns appear weekly in Lifestyles.