Are my bees doing the right thing for the time of year?

It can be difficult to know what is going on inside a hive when it's cold, but by using an acrylic crown board you can take off the roof and get a glimpse of what the bees are doing without disturbing, or chilling, them. If it's early spring, and a lot of bees are near the frame tops it could be a sign that they're running short of food. Hefting the hive could confirm this.

Another way of finding out what's happening is to take careful note of bee activity at the front of the hive. Seeing many bees flying close to, and facing, the front of the hive whilst making figure of eight flights, is a fairly safe indicator that these are new bees taking orientation flights.