I use a mix of buffers and split panes to manage my workflow. Sometimes, I (perhaps accidentally) open a directory listing instead of a file. My buffers may look like this then:

At this point, I can :bnext or :bprevious to bounce between my buffers, but when in the directory listing I cannot :bp <BAR> as I would normally to close a buffer and I'm seemingly stuck with this awkward buffer that I can't remove. (I have these all nmaped in some capacity, FWIW)

Yes, my habits should get me to use CTRL+P more to search for files, but sometimes I find this method of file traversal useful, so understanding the proper way to manage these would be superb.

Thank you!