Mike in the Wild

Living out a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" is not how I imagined a day on the Verde Valley wine trail: one moment sipping chardonnay, the next ducking for cover as a raptor buzzed me with extended talons.  The verdant riparian area that borders Oak Creek as it meanders from Sedona to the Verde River channels water through sunny slopes that are the home of several central Arizona vineyards.  But it is also an ideal habitat for wildlife, including migratory birds like the common black hawk that attacked me. A visit to a winery, then lunch with a river view and one more winery tour are not bad ways to spend a warm Friday after the Fourth of July.  The last stop, DA Ranch in Page Springs, sprawls along a scenic estate populated with towering cottonwoods and several weeping willow trees.  Its spacious wrap-around porches offer relaxing views of grapevines and mountains.  And this birder was especially interested in an animated female vermilion flycatche...