[Pollinator] Birdfeed for honeybees? Interesting N. NJ observation

[Michael Roswell]

After an outreach talk about native bees on 14 March, a master gardener 
from northern NJ posed this query:

A reminder of my question...Why is my bird feeder covered in European 
honey bees?   My neighbor has two hives and has put out lots of protein 
packs for them but they are all over both of our bird feeders.
Feed is mostly ground corn, other grains such as millet, sunflower seed, 
and Veg oil.  What are they eating??
Yes, I am further north and still lots of snow.  Very little sign of 
flowers.

Please pass along any ideas! This struck me as an interesting observation.

Michael Roswell