Yes, seeing bees on water sources in cool or darn right cold weather is always a welcome sight. It is a good sign the bees are raising brood, because as you said, in cold weather, it is not being using to cool the hive.
It is one of the main reasons, I provide water sources off to the side and behind the hives in my bee yards. The below link is to a amateur video I created (done with an Iphone 4s) of bees on one of the water sources. It was in the Spring before the trees started to leaf out, but there was some early pollen sources from trees.
http://www.ilsba.com/videos.html
Steve
Central Illinois
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