American barn owl at the supermarket in Las Iguanas, Costa Rica, 26 Jan 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)

4 February 2026

While in Costa Rica with Road Scholar on 26 January: On our way to Arenal we needed some snacks and bottled drinks so we combined a visit to the grocery store with a stop for barn owls. Yes, there were barn owls at the grocery store.

Supermarket in Las Iguanas, Costa Rica (screenshot from Google StreetView)

Inside the building it was a typical supermarket with a wide selection of food.

Road Scholars checking out at the grocery store, 26 Jan 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)

However, there was a ledge close to the roof peak and on that ledge was a pair of American barn owls (Tyto furcata).

Barn owls perched up high at the grocery store, 26 Jan 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)

I digiscoped the front-facing owl (at top) but the second owl was harder to see. Gary Levinson-Palmer captured these photos.

Barn owls at the supermarket, Costa Rica, 26 Jan 2026 (photo by Gary Levinson-Palmer)

Because there was sunlight behind them, I believe the owls come into a gap between the roof peak-section and the main roof. These gaps are needed for ventilation and heat reduction. Here’s an (exaggerated) example from Wikimedia Commons (not in Costa Rica).

Corrugated iron roof, photo from Wikimedia Commons

This sighting was a first. I’ve seen house sparrows at a Pittsburgh grocery store but never owls!