diff --git a/MEMENTO/IoT_Bird_Feeder/code.py b/MEMENTO/IoT_Bird_Feeder/code.py
index 79bd448bc..a6d370e72 100644
--- a/MEMENTO/IoT_Bird_Feeder/code.py
+++ b/MEMENTO/IoT_Bird_Feeder/code.py
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@
 
 def send_jpeg_to_io():
     # before we send the image to IO, it needs to be encoded into base64
-    encoded_data = binascii.b2a_base64(jpeg).strip()
+    encoded_data = binascii.b2a_base64(jpeg).strip().decode("utf-8")
     # then, send the encoded_data to Adafruit IO camera feed
     print("Sending image to IO...")
     io.send_data(feed_camera["key"], encoded_data)