Eden, yes, that's exactly what it sounds like! In fact, when I first heard it, I thought it WAS just the birds singing, since we ride out in the country all the time and I do hear birds quite a bit. That bearing shouldn't need replacing, though -- I've only had the bike for about a month. I'll ask LBS to check that out. But first I'm going to try Deb's suggestion of putting a drop of oil where the levers pivot. That might just solve the problem, but if it doesn't we're off to the LBS with our newly-found knowledge. Thanks for the info!

KB