diff --git a/birdnet-pi/rootfs/helpers/birdnet_to_mqtt.py b/birdnet-pi/rootfs/helpers/birdnet_to_mqtt.py
index 48921f659..7a89c7191 100644
--- a/birdnet-pi/rootfs/helpers/birdnet_to_mqtt.py
+++ b/birdnet-pi/rootfs/helpers/birdnet_to_mqtt.py
@@ -49,7 +49,8 @@ def get_bird_code(scientific_name):
 
     return bird_dict.get(scientific_name)
 
-def automatic_mqtt_publish(file, detection, path):
+def automatic_mqtt_publish(file, detection):
+    path = ""
     bird = {}
     bird['Date'] = file.date
     bird['Time'] = file.time