Nest is used with these nouns as the subject:
bird, duck, eagle, owl, pigeon

ant's, bird's, wasp's, etc.

build, construct, make
sit on
The male and female take turns to sit on the nest.

occupy
The litters of several different females often occupy the same nest.

abandon, desert, fly, leave
Her children have flown the nest. (figurative)

defend, guard
disturb
You should avoid disturbing the nest until after the eggs are hatched.

destroy
find, locate

site
The male uses song to attract a female to his nest site.

hole
box (usually nesting box in BrE)
mate

away from a/the nest
A rat took the egg while the mother was away from the nest.

in a/the nest, inside a/the nest
The snake will attack if disturbed inside its nest.

on a/the nest
The female spends all her time on the nest.