Perhaps they were staging a coo: Pigeons stow away on Royal Navy destroyer for 135-mile journey Feathered castaways joined the £1bn ship off the coast of Plymouth Despite the sailor's best efforts, the birds simply refused to leave So the ship's company adopted them and built a makeshift aviary One of the Royal Navy's state-of-the-art destroyers turned into a makeshift aviary after two racing pigeons made the ship their home. HMS Diamond was joined by the exhausted birds - nicknamed Gregory Peck and Sir Henry Cecil, after the late racehorse trainer, by sailors on board - as they sailed off the coast of Plymouth, Devon. Despite numerous attempts to get the pair to fly away, they refused to leave the £1billion warship during their 135-mile journey to Portsmouth, Hampshire. Stowaway: Sir Henry Cecil the pigeon with sailors on HMS Diamond. Sir Henry and another bird, Gregory Peck, adopted the ship as their home, much to the company's delight Cutting-edge: HMS Diamond is one of the Royal Navy's state-of-the-art £1billion destroyers So the ship's company, taking a shine to their new feathered friends, built them a perch, a box, and bedding and turned the quarterdeck into a makeshift pigeon sanctuary. Navigating officer Lieutenant Eleanor Tilley sought approval from her commanding officer before capturing the first bird. The second arrived on the flight deck of the 500-foot long ship two days later. Home sweet home: The crew turned the quarterdeck into a makeshift pigeon sanctuary Lt Tilley said: 'A ship at sea obviously attracts the occasional bird, but these are usually transient and depart after a short period. Gregory and Cecil were clearly struggling with the journey they had been on and needed help. Having seen them on board for a few days, and knowing the ship was to be at sea for some time, the bridge team felt obliged to give them a little support to aid them on their way. Cecil and Gregory were later fitted with an HMS Diamond tag once the ship arrived back at her home port in Portsmouth. With a little encouragement they then flew their steely grey nest, heading back to what was presumably their owner's home. HMS Diamond's commanding officer, Commander Andy Ingham, said: 'They have been fairly unusual additions to the ship's company on board. However, both of them have been popular with the team and a healthy distraction for some during our recent time at sea. I suspect they were quite sorry to say goodbye to our transient passengers. HMS Diamond is the third of the Royal Navy's new Type 45 destroyers. Five of them are now in service, with the last, HMS Duncan, to be commissioned later this year. HMS Diamond has already completed a seven-month deployment to the Gulf. All of the six destroyers are based in Portsmouth. The ship's top speed is around 30 knots an hour (34.6mph) - while a racing pigeon, when fit, flies at around 50mph. The birds seemed exhausted by their journey and rested on the ship, but then were not willing to leave Feathered friends: The birds proved popular with the crew and some were sad to see them go when they came into port Catch and release: Cecil and Gregory were fitted with an HMS Diamond tag before presumably flying back to their owner