Rickie Lee Jones Sings To The Birds

BirdNote^®
Rickie Lee Jones Sings to the Birds
Written by Ariana Remmel

This is BirdNote.

Grammy-winning musician Rickie Lee Jones has performed on stages around the world. At home in New Orleans, she found a new audience.

Rickie Lee Jones: One thing I notice is that when I go out on my porch — where I'm watching birds now — if I play the banjo, play the guitar or just sit and sing, the birds come and look.  

Rickie welcomes wildlife to her yard with feeders and bird baths. She loves watching her feathered friends and learning their calls. They even seem to recognize her voice too!

Rickie Lee Jones: You know, I can't sing nearly as high as a cardinal, but I go [whistles] and they look and they come as if they're going, “She's putting food down for us. Don't let the squirrel get it!” But I think they are very sensitive to melody and so when we go outside and sing, I think they come to see what's up.

         [Northern Cardinal]

You can help songbirds at home by keeping feeders clean, growing native plants, and turning off outdoor lights at night. You can even show your appreciation in song!

Rickie Lee Jones: They don't mind if you're professional. Just go [laughs] go out and sing to 'em!

BirdNote has inspired millions of people to take action for birds — learn more and join us at BirdNote.org, I’m Michael Stein.

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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Producer: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Ariana Remmel
Content Director: Jonese Franklin

Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Northern Cardinal ML84706 recorded by Wil Hershberger.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2026 BirdNote March 2026
Narrator: Michael Stein

ID# JonesRL-02-2026-03-06    JonesRL-02