Five young Missouri hunters are unlikely to forget their January goose hunt at Talbot Conservation Area.

Neither are students in hunter education classes who hear the five describe how they killed three federally protected birds and the price they paid for shooting in haste.

The five, all from Rogersville, Mo., were hunting in a secluded area near Spring River on the 4,000-acre conservation area when three large, white birds flew in to land. The hunters opened fire, killing two birds and fatally wounding the third.

Another group of hunters witnessed the incident and used a cell phone to call law enforcement officials. They knew the birds were not snow geese, but much larger and rarer trumpeter swans.

When state official Don Ruzicka arrived at the area, he found the swan killers still hunting.

He said they were friendly and cooperative when he asked to see their game.

When asked what they had shot, they replied that they had bagged three snow geese.

“The hunters clearly did not know what they had done,” Ruzicka said. “It was doubly unfortunate. The swans died, and these five young men learned a very expensive lesson.”

All five were charged with illegally taking wildlife and pleaded guilty in court. A judge levied fines, restitution and court costs totaling $5,487.50. He also ordered 180-day suspended jail sentences on two years’ probation.

Finally, he ordered them to speak to a hunter education class about the hazards of failing to identify game before shooting.

“Hunters have sole responsibility for knowing hunting regulations and being able to identify game animals,” Ruzicka said. “You have to be able to identify your target to know if it is legal. If you can’t, the only right choice is to not shoot.”

Snow geese are so abundant that federal wildlife officials have liberalized hunting regulations to encourage extra harvest.

In contrast, trumpeter swans were classified as federally endangered until a few years ago.