Merlin

If you leave the Cooper's photo, make sure you note it in the description.

Jemma, you should be very excited about photographing a merlin! They are rarer than many other raptor species!

1,3: Merlin (stocky proportions, extensive barring on flanks, strong supercilium, small bill) 2,4: Cooper's Hawk (light nape, dark cap, round tail)

I understand the want to turn this bird into an owl, but you can't do it with this one haha. Your best chances to see an owl are with Great Horned. Ask around, maybe find a local birding group or ask some friends. Great Horns are very much creatures of habit, they rarely leave their area, and once you know their area, they are easy to find. Not mid-day though, morning within 2-3 hours after sun up has been best for me. You will find one some day though!

Are you sure this is the same bird in all the pictures? The 2 and 4 bird is definitely a coop. However the 1 and 3 bird even at that harsh angle looks like a different bird. His tail doesn't look at long at 2 and 4. My first thought with pics 1 and 3 was that it is a merlin. Perhaps he flew away due to the larger Cooper's Hawk?!

Yep now I'm back to thinking Cooper's as well

The front view makes a big difference. It looks like Coopers Hawk now.

Yes, definitely a Merlin.

Yea I can see Merlin, definitely one of the smaller birds of prey like that.

Jemma, this looks like a Merlin - Falco columbarius to me. The dark line behind the eye, small yellow bill and gray back look right. But this is a difficult angle to say for sure. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/merlin/id

Looks like a Cooper's Hawk, terrible angle for ID though. Not an owl.

how long was its tail?