Three.

That’s apparently the number of birds it takes to close a bakery. Pitango Bakery + Café CEO Dinah Bengur learned that Wednesday after Baltimore City health inspectors heard about a trio of European starlings that had nestled in the Fells Point eatery. The business was ordered to close Thursday, with a notice posted on its door that dramatically named the offending violation as a “bird infestation.”

Now, for transparency, I hate birds. Not the colorful exotic kind that you see from afar — but real working-class birds. I grew up around Manhattan, where pigeons chose to waddle into traffic despite having the ability to fly. I don’t believe their droppings are good luck, and I don’t trust the people who do.

When I was in Pitango earlier this week, I of course noticed the birds. The building has high ceilings and sits feet away from the water, making it a magnet for our avian enemies. Bengur said some of the birds have created a habit of waiting for the bakery’s doors to open, only to flock inside. In some cases, patrons have fed the birds, making the issue worse.

This is not the first time Pitango has taken on this issue. Another customer previously complained over the beasts of flight entering the bakery, so Bengur started to step up security in response. She looked into hanging hockey puck-like items that the birdbrains could confuse for fire, or playing a high-pitched sound. But both solutions appeared to come at the cost of customers’ convenience.

She assures customers the birds should not be a part of the “Pitango experience,” though for some, it appears to be. One Banner colleague said he “assumed those birds were welcome in there,” while another referred to the flock as “a big part of the vibe.” One Reddit user called the issue “systemic.”

But another health inspection carried out later Thursday determined the bird infestation has been taken care of, and Pitango will reopen Friday. Bengur promised to put up a temporary screen door to deter some of the winged creatures and long term, she’s eyeing a vestibule, or some kind of double-door to fix the problem.

“They shouldn’t be coming inside and they are a nuisance when they do,” she said. “We want to make sure they don’t anymore.”

I don’t know if the sky rats can be reasoned with. I’ve seen what the birds did to Tippi Hedren in that Alfred Hitchcock film. But I’ll be watching as Pitango’s battle wages on — from a safe distance and with one of their almond cookies in hand.