Why would bees mooch around on a beach?

[Herbsandveg]

Whilst on my holiday in Filey (On the coast of East Yorkshire, for those not in the know) I saw quite a few bees around the beach, and quite a number of these were heading 'inland from the sea', or so it seems. Now, it could well be that they had a buzz around down there just drinking in the ozone like the rest of us, but I always assumed that they were far more measured and 'deliberate' in their actions, and would have nothing much to interest them down there in the North Sea. Does anyone have a clue why they might have been doing this, and is there anything of interest for them - maybe 'in the air?' - that could have prompted them to have mooched around in the way that they clearly were?...

[mothhawk]

Bees like a little salt just like the rest of us. Apparently if you provide bees with two sources of water, and one of them is slightly salty, that is the one they will favour.

[rustylady]

There are probably flowering plants nearby too.

[bobbin]

Hmm. Interesting. We have a beach hut at Littlehampton Sussex. For weeks about 4 bees buzz about us when we lower the deck of the hut. The bees remain all day. We suspect lowering the deck prevents their access underneath the hut as the try to crawl between the gap between the edge of hut and the deck. But it's always only 3-4 bees. We're baffled...and keeping our shoes on! If nesting why so few? No flowers as sea kale flowers gone. Hubby peeled an orange outside hut yesterday and bee wouldn't leave the peel alone...or him. We've seen a few disappear under other huts next to us too. They are the bumble bee type with couple of stripes and fluffy white bottom...aaahh. Any bee keepers out there? Please enlighten us.

[rustylady]

Possibly this one | The Wildlife Trusts

Bumble bees don't make huge nests - you're thinking of honey bee hives which contain thousands of bees.

[insy]

Yes there is some videos on youtube by the FatBeeMan and what he does it stick blocks of salt in his apiaries because they use salt to cure the honey, how much of this is true i can't remember as haven't read my bee books lately.